101 Reasons
by The Musings of a Muse
Summary: In which Lucy doesn't think her and Natsu's relationship will work out, and in which Natsu counters all of her doubts - even though they aren't exactly the explanations Lucy was looking for! NaLu!
1. NaLu Reasons 1 to 10

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail**

**(**1-10**)**

**1. Human**

"I'm a human, and you're part dragon."

"You're skipping over the human part of me."

**2. Father**

"I don't think I'll be able to come with you to look for Igneel."

"Why not? I'll be there to protect you."

**3. Trouble**

"I always cause you so much trouble; I nearly destroyed the Guild!"

"If you weren't so much trouble, then you wouldn't be Lucy; key word there being _nearly._"

**4. Attitude**

"You know I can have a horrible attitude."

"I'll call it a fair trade for when Dragon Season comes."

**5. Motion Sickness**

"You can't ride in anything that moves, do you really expect me to walk everywhere with you?"

"The way I see it, we have two options; a) I could carry you, b) you'll just have to help me overcome my sickness."

**6. Annoying**

"Frankly, you annoy the hell out of me."

"At least you won't go to Hell then."

**7. Happy-go-Lucky**

"You're always so happy-go-lucky; it's too much."

"Would you prefer that I was a Debbie Downer?"

**8. Lisanna**

"I was a replacement for Lisanna; now she's back."

"Lisanna is Lisanna and Lucy is Luigi; you're both different."

**9. Love-struck**

"You're not exactly the person I saw myself falling in love with."

"That's because you read those dumb Fairy Tales; and I don't mean our Guild."

**10. Clumsy**

"I'm supper clumsy and will just get in the way in missions."

"You do that anyways and we still make it out fine, don't we?"

**Review Please! Ideas are welcomed!**


	2. NaLu Reasons 11 to 20

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own anything.**

**(**11 – 20**)**

**Thank you SiberianTangerine for #19, MishaArsellecLune for #11, and NoemiNalu for #12**

**KEEP THE REVIEWS COMING; THE MORE IDEAS I HAVE, THE BETTER THIS WILL BE!**

**11. Fairy Tales**

"How do I know that you're the good guy; dragons also captures princesses."

"Luce, I'm a Dragon _Slayer_, I'll beat up any pesky dragon that dares show his face!"

**12. Books**

"I love to read, you don't even see the point of books."

"No, they have a point. They make you smile."

**13. Romance**

"I expect romance."

"I can light the candles."

**14. Friends**

"All our friends will be surprised."

"As if! Mira and Cana are already taking bets!"

**15. Erza**

"What will Erza say about our relationship; she frowns on partners becoming couples."

"Please don't bring up Erza! She's just gonna have to make an exception!"

**16. Truth**

"I expect you to lie to me if it's an acceptable situation; don't be an 'Honest Abe'."

"Who's he again?"

**17. Simple**

"You're so simple minded."

"Yup! So all I can think about it you."

**18. Hair**

"Your hair is too bright; it's pink for Pete's sake!"

"I'm not complaining about yours! It's yellow like a light-bulb!"

**19. Best Friends**

"Natsu; we're best friends."

"All the easier to transition; we know each other the best!"

**20. Hiro Mashima**

"Evidently there's a person out there named Hiro Mashima whose dead set against our pairing."

"Screw Mashima! We don't need to listen to higher ups, remember?"

**Ok, so how was that? Want more funny? More cute? I've got both~! Anyways, if I get 100+ reviews on this story, there will be a sequel fic called 102 Responses; I've already got ideas, so let's get to the 100!**


	3. NaLu Reasons 21 to 30

**Aw~! I love you guys so much! Keep the reviews coming you guys! You have no idea how many times a day I look at my iPod hoping for a review; so far I haven't been disappointed at all! I LOVE YOU GUYS, LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH! Well, I'm in a good mood. Hopefully I can get the next few chapters out too!**

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think that she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail**

**(**21 – 30**)**

**CHECK OUT THE BOTTOM FOR AN IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!**

* * *

**21. Bright**

"Natsu, the brightest thing about you is your fire."

"What does my brain have to do with any of this?"

**22. Food**

"All you like to do is eat; and burning food at that!"

"Geez...Luce, most guys do like to eat..."

**23. Happy**

"You're gonna have to do something about that stupid cat of yours."

"Happy? What about him?"

**24. Loke**

"Loke's gonna freak when he hears that we're together..."

"HA! You agreed with me!"

**25. Gray**

"You have to stop fighting with Gray while I'm watching."

"Only as long as he doesn't hit on you; if that happens, I'll tell you when to look away."

**26. Touché**

"Natsu; you're a fire Dragon Slayer, part of Fairy Tail, have pink hair, eat fire, have a flying blue cat, have inhuman strength, endless energy, and never stop pestering me! Don't you see something wrong with this picture?"

"Lucy; you're a Celestial Mage, also part of Fairy Tail, have yellow hair, you're always on some sort of diet, own some sort of freaky dog like thing, have...er...ya know...anyways, you're not exactly a Sleepy Susan either; and I wouldn't pester you if you'd pay me some attention instead of all those other guys! I find absolutely nothing wrong with this relationship!"

**27. Life**

"You're gonna live longer than I will...I don't think I'd be able to do that to you."

"Lucy, I'd rather have loved you while you were alive, and still love you after you died than never had the chance to love you."

**28. Bed**

"You're going to have to stop sleeping in my bed if we become a couple; people will get the wrong idea."

"Oh? And what idea would that be; I like the sound of it!"

**29. Strength**  
"I'm not strong enough to stand by your side; I'm always going to have to be behind you while you protect me."

"Your strength is different; I'll take 'em out if you patch me up afterwards."

**30. Kisses**

"Last time you kissed me, it was sloppy! You're horrible at kissing..."

"Well, there's a fix for that; it's called practice."

* * *

**Well, hello again! So, I have a new plan for this story; it's going to be several different stories! It's going to be broken up into several different ones. You see, this is going to be a series of 101 Reasons; the first is going to be Natsu and Lucy, then Lucy's responses to Natsu's remarks; so basically, it's going to turn into a dialog story. Then it'll probably be Gajeel and Levy next, then Gray and Juvia, and any other couple that you guys want. I'll then do something like a bunch of one-shots based on the top voted 15-20 little snippets of conversation and put those into chapters; all in all, this is going to be one MASSIVE story! So, sooner than later, this story is just going to be renamed either;**

**1.) All Those Couples **

**2.) 101 Reasons for 'Us'**

**3.) Random Ramblings of Reasons**

**4.) Other**

**Vote for your favorites! Reviews are welcomed! What couples do you want? I'm ready to write and know! See ya later guys!**


	4. NaLu Reasons 31 to 40

**Ok, normally I wouldn't say this, but DAMN! Do you guys really like this story that much? Had I known this a while ago, then I would've posted this WAAAAAAY sooner! Anyways, if you still want me to do that huge massive story thing, then I need 100 reviews!**

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think that she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail**

**(**31 – 40**)**

**31. Money**

"You're going to have to stop destroying things on jobs; I need the money you know."

"Lucy~ why do you like money more than me~?"

**32. Battles**

"Listen; I may not be that strong, but I still want to fight my own battles."

"I grew up with all the girls saying that...I guess it's ok, but only if I'm watching!"

**33. Stars and Fire**

"Stars and fire don't really mix..."

"I thought your symbol was a key...Eh, didn't you tell me once that stars were made with fire?"

**34. Rude**

"You have no manners! You're always so rude to _everybody_."

"Really? Hm...are you sure that it's _everybody_?"

**35. Beauty**

"You don't like me just because of how I look, right?"

"I'm not some damn pervert Lucy; that's Gray!"

**36. Hyper**

"You're too hyper."

"And you're too boring."

**37. Idiot**

"You have to be the biggest idiot that I've ever met."

"Oh, so Gray, Loke, and all the other guys in the guild don't count?"  
**  
38. Agreement**

"Have we ever agreed on anything?"

"No! That's because you don't agree with my awesome plans; like this argument now!"  
**  
39. Dense**

"Natsu, you're so dense that you don't understand how many girls flirt with you; how do I know you won' tget tricked?"

"You have no room to talk, Luce. There's Gray, Loke, and a whole bunch of other guys that always flirt with you! There's another one you never seem to see, too...and wait, those girls were flirting with me? "  
**  
40. Jealous**

"I might get jealous easy if I see you with Li- another girl."

"Lucy, are you really still worried about Lisanna? Didn't she give you the ok to go after me?"

**Remember, 100 reviews!**


	5. NaLu Reasons 41 to 50

**Oh, dear me, I'm a bit late again, aren't I? I have a very good reason though! You see, my sister had her wedding and I was a bride's maid, I had to help plan and everything. Also, Ihadalittlebitofwriter'sblock! *coughs* Ok, now let's get on with it!**

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think that she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail**

**(**41 – 50**)**

**41. Stubborn**

"You're always so stubborn Natsu; how do I know that you'll let me voice my thoughts?"

"Something tells me that you won't need any help with that..."

**42. Training**

"You're not allowed to start training our kids until they show magical abilities."

"Wait - wait - WAIT! Who said _anything_ about _kids_?"

**43. Bipolar**

"You always seem to have two personalities; the one you normally have and the one where you face a strong opponent. How am I supposed to know who you really are?"

"They're both me. I can say the same about Lucy too; you fit the song 'Angle to you, Devil to me' pretty damn well."

**44. Fortune**

"One day I will have to take on the Hearfilia fortune and when that day comes, I may not be able to be a Mage anymore."

"Then I'll kidnap you and demand the fortune so we can stay mages!"

**45. Possessive**

"You can't be too possessive, I'm still going to need my own personal space."

"So I'm going to have to break the locks on your windows again?"

**46. Love and Like**

"How do you know that you 'love' me and not just 'like' me?"

"Well, let's see, I can't stand the thought of you with another guy who might hurt you. I can't stand the thought of you _being_ hurt. I hate it when you avoid me and flirt with other guys. I hate it when you won't tell me what's wrong. I love the way you smile and laugh – it makes me feel like I can do anything. I want to be the one who dries all your tears and be the one who murders the one who caused them. I want to be the only one who knows what you're thinking, even if you tell me or not. And, last, but not least, I want to be the only one who eats all the food in your house! If that's not 'love' then can you tell me what is?"

**47. Maturity**

"You're always so immature."

"That's because you've shown me how totally boring being mature is."

**48. Irate**

"You're able to irritate me too easily."

"And that means that you just can't ignore me."

**49. Up-bringing **

"You were raised by a dragon."

"Your point being...?"

**50. Names**

"You'll be expected to take my last name."

"Hell no! If we can't have my awesome last name, then we'll both change our names!"

**Ok, so this story is now top on my priority list, meaning that all other stories are on extended leave – even more so than before…. Anyways, I need LOTS more ideas; I'm running out of them quickly! Oh, and start debating what ones are your favs, I'm thinking that the top five will get their own one shot with the conversation in them. Remember, 21 more reviews and you guys will have your massive story!**

**Review Please!**


	6. NaLu Reasons 51 to 60

**Alrighty! One more, once again! So, anyone sick of updates? I can always stop if you want me to *smirks* Nah, I wouldn't do that to you guys! Any-hoo, I was thinking of an omake chapter right after the first part of each 'series' was done; I'd tell you guys what I was thinking with some of my favorites that I've written so far. So, like-y? Dislike-y? Even though this is my fic, I'm still here to serve the masses of the general public!**

**Ah, yeah, YO! EVERYONE CHECK THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE FOR A ****PROBABLY VERY LONG**** IMPORTANT AUTHOR'S NOTE!**

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think that she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail**

**(**51 – 60**)**

**51. Couple Time**

"Since we can't get rid of that idiot cat he's going to have to learn when it's time to make himself scarce."

"I think he's smarter than either of us give him credit for...Your spirits are going to have to be the ones to learn to make themselves scarce before Happy has to tell them to."

**52. Clothes**

"I'm going to have to take you shopping for something that isn't your normal attire; ok?"

"I'll get new clothes when you get less revealing ones."

**53. Moving In**

"We are NOT living at your house. Last time I cleaned it, it took me an entire day!"

"Eh, I didn't plan on moving in to your house, but now that you said it, your bed is a whole lot more comfortable than mine."

**54. Introductions**

"I'm kinda scared of being introduced to Igneel for the first time, he's a dragon and you don't exactly see them wandering around everywhere."

"_You're _afraid of meeting _my_ dad? Hell, meeting your dad will be ten times scarier than meeting Igneel; it's every guys worst nightmare to meet his girlfriend's parents ya' know."

**55. Fights**

"I highly doubt that any type of 'civil argument' we have in our relationship will actually be civil. I know enough Mage couples to understand that bad things happen whenever they fight."

"That's why Mira's here."

**56. Jealousy**

"We're both going to have to learn how not to be jealous; and that's easier said than done."

"I've heard that Erza's a great motivator."

**57. Fight or Flight**

"I can't promise that I'll always be as self-assured as you are. I don't always have to will to fight I'd there's a way I can prevent it; even at the cost of my own life."

"Don't you dare ever say that again! I you won't fight, then I'll take you some place where you won't have the chance to run and give up! I won't hear it anymore if you're just going to degrade yourself like this!"

**58. Opposites**

"We're complete opposites! We're so different that this relationship would never work out!"

"Come on, Luce. I don't read half as much as you do and even I know that all good love stories center around o complete opposites!"

**59. Color Codes**

"We'd look ridiculous together; pink and yellow, brown and black, those colors don't match at all!"

"Well, it's better than black and yellow or orange and yellow. It's better to be absolutely ridiculous and happy than be boring and unhappy!"

**60. Horoscope**

"I'm a Celestial Mage, meaning that I do believe in horoscopes. Mine is Cancer and my birthday is on July 1st, Cancers only get along with Scorpio and Pisces, which doesn't leave a whole lot of leeway for you, Natsu."

"Eh, horoscopes aren't _that _important! Besides, you _are _a Celestial Mage, just like you said! I'm more than willing to bet that Loke and Crab-guy could pull a few strings for us."

***pumps fists* OVER HALF WAY THERE!**

**Alrighty then…what was I gonna say here? Oh yeah! Thank you to **SiberianTangerine **and thank you to **TitaniaScarlet **for the majority of ideas in this chapter. Also, everybody else who reviewed, favorited, alerted and such, THANK YOU! And if you didn't see your ideas in this chapter, then watch out for the next few, ok? I haven't forgotten your kindness and it has been duly noted! See guys? Look how much faster I get things posted when I get ideas!**

**So, can anyone guess who Natsu was talking about in "Color Codes"? lol can't wait to hear you guesses! Speaking of which, who can guess my age? I'm interested to know how old you guys think I am…Don't look at my profile; haven't updated in a bit so it's wrong, childish, and yet, some-what true.**

**OK! ON TO THE IMPORTANT STUFF!**

**You guys voted, so here's the run down on the top ones so far;**

**The re-naming of the new fic was unanimously voted upon by my readers and will be called '101 Reasons for Us'**

**To everyone who said that Natsu is a little OOC in this fic; **_**he isn't OOC. **_**Most FF writers have portrayed Natsu as a seemingly dense idiot, and I won't disagree, he can be sometimes, but we also forget that Natsu is quite smart; look at all he's been through! He understands people in his guild better than anyone, and when there's a threat, he's one of the first to understand why and completely kick some ass! Look at half the things he says and does; actually LOOK; he's not stupid, dense, or idiotic, so please stop telling me that.**

**Ok, rankings on favorites are as follows:**

**FIRST: (WE HAVE A TIE)**

**#45: Possessive**

**-"You can't be too possessive; I'm still going to need my own personal space."**

**-"So I'm going to have to break the locks on your windows again?"**

**#46: Love and Like**

**-****"How do you know that you 'love' me and not just 'like' me?"**

**-"Well, let's see, I can't stand the thought of you with another guy who might hurt you. I can't stand the thought of you **_**being**_** hurt. I hate it when you avoid me and flirt with other guys. I hate it when you won't tell me what's wrong. I love the way you smile and laugh – it makes me feel like I can do anything. I want to be the one who dries all your tears and be the one who murders the one who caused them. I want to be the only one who knows what you're thinking, even if you tell me or not. And, last, but not least, I want to be the only one who eats all the food in your house! If that's not 'love' then can you tell me what is?"**

**AND IN SECOND PLACE: (WE HAVE ANOTHER TIE)**

**#17: Simple**

**-"You're so simple minded."**

**-"Yup! So all I can think about is you."**

**#28: Bed**

**-"You're going to have to stop sleeping in my bed if we become a couple; people will get the wrong idea."**

**-"Oh? And what idea would that be; I like the sound of it!"**

**AND IN THIRD PLACE: (I'M NOT GOING TO LIST ALL OF THEM -.-")**

**#6, #7, #8, #16, #18, #19, #21, #27, #30, #31, #36, #37, #47, and #48**

**I ONLY WANT THE **_**TOP FIVE**_** SO KEEP VOTING!**

'**Til next time!**


	7. NaLu Reasons 61 to 70

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own anything.**

**(**61 – 70**)**

**Thank you to all you reviewers! Special thanks to **SiberianTangerine **for her consistent reviews and all the ideas she's given me. I would never have made it this far without your support. Also, thank you to **89niners-best-team-ever **for waiting ever so patiently for me to use your ideas; THANKS Y'ALL!**

* * *

**61. Mira**

"You mentioned Mira earlier; have you ever thought that she may have more plans for us than just becoming a couple?"

"You mean like kissing and stuff?"

**62. 'We Told You So'**

"The guild will tease us, non-stop. We'll have to endure some many 'I told you so's from everyone!"

"Well, having them say 'I told you so' is better than the other way around, right?"

**63. Wounds**

"When you say that you can't stand the thought of me getting hurt, it's the same for me. I don't like seeing you come back from battles all beat up. It makes me feel like I'm powerless to help at all."

"Do you always have to call yourself weak? It isn't true ya' know. If ice said it once, then I've said it a thousand times; you're not weak. Besides, you're the only one that can stop me from thoughtlessly charging into battles; remember how you stopped me from fight that bastard Erigor?"

**64. Writer's Block**

"It takes time to write a book, Natsu, and if I intend to get said book done, I'm not going to have much time for a relationship."

"You're basing it off your adventures from Fairy Tail, right? Then when nothing bug happens, you'll get that writer's disease. What's it called again...? Oh yeah! I'll give you new adventures whenever you get writer's block!"

**65. Fair Trade**

"You're going to have to put on some different clothes; I've already mentioned that I was going to take you shopping and I mean it! No more parading around half naked with only a scarf!"

"Don't you dare lecture me about being half naked! Look at what you wear; it barely covers your ass!"

**66. Abandoned**

"How do I know that you won't just leave me behind if – when you find Igneel?"

"Because you'll be with me when I find him!"

**67. Spicy and Sweet**

"I refuse to eat anything spicy; I like my sweet foods."

"Well, too much sweet will rot your teeth."

**68. You + Me = ?**

"If – and this is a mighty big _if_ – we get together and all of Mira's plans work out, and, once again, if we **EVER** have kids, have you ever given a thought as to what they might be like?"

"Something tells me that they'll have no trouble at all with fitting into the Guild."

**69. Gildarts**

"Since we've been on the subject of fathers lately, what do you think Gildarts will think of me? I'm not exactly the kind of person Lisanna is, and that's who he's used to."

"As long as you have our Guild's drive, he'll absolutely love you! Not in the way I do, of course, and just don't let him hug you, ok?"

**70. Training**

"What if I want to train on my own? I mean, like leave the guild kind of train?"

"If I don't hear from you every day or two, then I won't care what the hell you say, I **WILL** come and find 're lucky that I'm even considering letting you leave to train!"

* * *

**Well then, everyone was right about 'Color Codes'! It's Gray and Loke that Natsu was talking about! No new challenges for this round; unless you want to guess my age. Any~ways~ I'm thinking about doing GaLe after NaLu; how about it? I've always loved to write with Levy's personality; I suppose that's because she's so much like me, besides the height factor, I'm tall enough for my age, roughly 5'4". I'll be posting the results for the favorites contest in the last NaLu chapter; ok? OH! And I now have a site where I will be posting sneak peeks for new stories and chapters; w w w (dot) atstories (dot) (dot) c o m **

**Just take out the spaces and replace '(dot)' with an actual '.'**

**Reviews are HIGHLY WELCOMED AS ARE IDEAS!**


	8. NaLu Reasons 71 to 80

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own anything.**

**(**71 – 80**)**

**Hate to say it, but I'm running short on ideas…and sorry for any mistakes, all these have been typed up on my iPod and auto-correct is _NOT_ my friend!**

* * *

**71. Apologies**

"When you do something stupid, because we both know that at some point you will, I'll expect some form of an apology; flowers would do nicely."

"Or, I could just get you another tree."

**72. Superstar**

"Natsu, you know that I want to become a model for The Sorcerer, I just don't see how you'll be able to stand me doing that job. I don't want that to put a strain on our could-be relationship."

"Well then, I guess I should get a body-guarding license."

**73. Soft-spot**

"We'll be each other's soft-spots during missions, and the first person to figure that out will be able to use us against one another."

"All the more reason to train and get stinger so not even one of those wannabe bastards can get to either one of us!"

**74. Spy Network**

"I WILL go on missions with other people. I'm not going to let your spats of possessiveness ruin my chances at paying rent."

"What can I say? I'm a dragon, we get possessive! Besides, even if you do try to get away on a mission, I have eyes in the skies."

**75. Off-limits**

"There are a few things, er, rules, I mean people...and actions, I mean with those people involved, that you can't do! Or, at least, you have to be just a bit more aware of what you're doing."

"Good thing you brought this up – though I do want to know who these people are – I have some of my own rules for you to follow; people and actions and doing those actions with the said people. I'll point out the actions you CAN'T do as long and with what people as you point out the actions I can't do and with what people, got it?"

**76. Games**

"At the Magic Games, if you ever get paired up with a girl as your opponent, then I expect you to finish it cleanly and quickly, no extra attacks or flourishes just to show off, got it?"

"Fine, got it. But, I'm going to warn you, dragons like to play games. So if you ever get paired off against Sting, Rouge, or any of those other dragons, I want you to forfeit. They'll try to go through you to get to me."

**77. Unpredictable**

"Have you ever once had a plan when going into battle?"

"Not exactly…but I've never really needed one, have I? Besides, I planned this out quite carefully!"

**78. Role-model **

"I expect you to be a good role-model for our kids, got it? No teaching them stupid things just because Gray tells you that it'll be fun, ok?"

"Again with the whole 'we're having kids' thing! Why are you so hung up on that? Not that I wouldn't mind having kids, but still!"

**79. Rivals**

"I'm just going to say this once; your rivals will **not **become my rivals just because we started dating, right?"

"Trust me; you have enough rivals on your own to keep yourself busy without my interference."

**80. Wanted**

"You do realize how many Dark Guilds are after you, right? It'll be a whole lot of trouble if they were to catch wind of anything pertaining to you and someone that's 'special' to you."

"Geez…you and self-preservation. Do you really doubt me that much, Luce? I promise that nothing will happen to you, ok?"

* * *

**So, can you tell that things are starting to get a little repetitive? I know that I can, and I apologize for it, but things are getting more and more difficult as ideas get more and more scarce. Please send me some more ideas and fast! I still want to thank my ever-faithful reviewers and idea givers: **SiberianTangerine **and **TitaniaScarlet **(and, by the way, I will do JerZa). Oh, and how's this; I want to get 100 reviews for every couple! So that will probably end up being over 600 reviews! Plausible, I think so! So! Let's hop to it you guys!**

**PLEASE SEND ME ANY IDEAS THAT YOU MAY HAVE! EVEN IF YOU THINK THAT THEY'RE STUPID, I CAN FIND A WAY TO INCORPERATE THEM! THANK YOU!**


	9. NaLu Reasona 81 to 90

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own anything.**

**(**81 – 90**)**

**Gomen ne! I'm late again! And just a warning, Natsu's a bit horny during this chapter, if you catch my drift.**

**Also, please read the author's note at the bottom if you would, thanks ahead of time!**

**81. Public**

"You don't know how to behave yourself in public! I can't trust you not embarrass me in front of everybody."

"Well, I've always been told to be myself, so I'm not going to quit now!"

**82. Dragons**

"Natsu, you know that I probably have connections as to how the dragons disappeared, my mom died on the exact same day as they disappeared. What if there's something about that, that we don't know or understand?"

"There's always going to be something that we don't know, and if the time comes, I will choose you over the dragons, it's what Igneel would have told me to do anyways."

**83. Behavior**

"We're incompatible! Opposites may attract, but they never really work out at all. Our behavior, tendencies, abilities, likes and dislikes are so different and that'll just cause problems in the long run. I don't want a broken relationship, Natsu."

"If this puts your mind at ease at all, then you should know that Dragons can only mate once. That's why it didn't work out for me and Lisanna; she wasn't the one for me."

**84. Weapons**

"You cannot freak out whenever I have to use every single weapon in my arsenal during battle; that includes seduction, ya' know."

"Don't hold it against me if I enjoy every moment of you using your 'weapon' then."

**85. Sun and Fun**

"I'm attractive; both you and I know it. I like beaches; both you and I know it. Boys on the beach like attractive girls who wear next to nothing while playing in the water. It's already been established that you're overprotective and hate the thought of me leaving you. So, I'm going to say it now, do _not _stalk me on the beach, and do _not _murder every single guy that looks at me _that _way, got it?"

"Is it ok if they just end up, like, _gone_? Disappeared? Otherwise they're gonna end up blind."

**86. Hot Springs **

"You will not, under any kinds of circumstances, _ever _peep at me again. Last time you got us kicked out of every hot spring in the resort town we went to for some R & R. I won't tolerate it a second time, whether or not it's at home or out in public, it won't happen again, ok?"

"I can't promise that, Lucy. I am still a teenage guy, and it's not my fault that I'm attracted to you in more than a just physical way – physical and emotional attraction can make things happen to your hormones, ya' know."

**87. Competition **

"I refuse to _ever _compete with you during or with _anything_. I do have more sanity than that."

"Wait, you said '_during anything_', just what the hell are you thinking, Lucy? Sounds to me that your heart isn't completely agreeing with your mind. Liking what you see more than you care to share?"

**88. 'Hit List'**

"No more of your hit lists. I don't care who you want to fight or if they're considered strong, I don't want you seeking them out and getting hurt without any reason!"

"Fine, but only if you explain _your _hit list to me and why all the people on it are guys and also _why_ both Hibiki and Gray are _crossed off._"

**89. Dirty Little Secret**

"I do **not **want kids any time soon, if you catch my drift."

"Ah, don't worry; I'm good with keeping secrets. Though it'll never happen, 'cause we'll use protection, right?"

**90. Separation Anxiety **

"If you're really this attached to me, then how, exactly, do you intend to go on the one hundred year mission the Gildarts was talking about? Besides, how the hell does one even _live _that long?"

"I suppose that I'll have to finish it quicker than expected if I don't want to get a bad case of separation anxiety. Though, it'll still be tough, being away from you that long. So just make sure that you become so famous with the whole model thing that I'll be able to hear and see you in every single town and newspaper on my trip, ok?"

**Ja, how does it sound? Liking it again? Ok, so I was surfing through my inbox one day, just looking through it because evidently I had some unread e-mails from Lord knows when. As I was looking through, the last **_**four **_**pages of my inbox were filled with alerts, reviews, favorites, ect., form all of my followers, I just wanted to tell you guys how much that means to me as an author, and I really mean it. BTW this chapter is a big shout-out to **SiberianTangerine **who sent me a PM earlier this week and encouraged me to keep going, I just want to thank her so much for doing that, because without it, I would never have gotten this chapter out today.**

**I'll be posting the one-shot winners on the next chapter, meanwhile, if you guys have any ideas, ANY AT ALL, tell me. I've tried my best and repeatedly surfed through Natsu and Lucy's Fairy Tail wikis, but I'm becoming even more hard pressed to find ideas for all my snippets of conversation. I have four other fanfics that I'm working on to get the first chapters out so I may be late with the next update, though I hope to have it out by Friday at the latest. Review, review and review some more please! **

**Props to anyone who reads these long winded notes of mine. I'm also thanking **PoeticNonsenseNinjaStyle **for their ideas along with **SiberianTangerine**. You guys are some of my most loyal reviewers.**

**ARE THERE ANY NARUTO OR BLEACH FANS IN THE HOUSE? If so, head to this website: w w .weebly.c o m. I am posting up new story ideas and thoughts there. I go by the name of 'Muse' there as well as on here. Three of my best friends also post on there; so check it out and leave your feedback to show your support! Thank you so much!**


	10. NaLu Reasons 91 to 101

**101 Reasons**

**In which Lucy doesn't think she and Natsu can make it, and he gives a reason right back as to why they will.**

**I don't own anything.**

**(**91– 101**)**

…**And it's off to the morning and back again; same old day, same situation****…. **

**Well, ain't that just the perfect song for me? Yeah, I'm back; I haven't died…yet. Though, I might this coming week, because, you see, on Friday I'm leaving for New York. This means less updates for you guys and no wi-fi for me because we're going to be somewhere in the Adirondack Mountains – Lake Pleasant in Speculator, I do believe. So, any-who, I've had a great run with you guys, and with NaLu. I'm thinking of doing GaLe (Gajeel and Levy) next, sound good?  
**

**91. Dancing Lessons**

"So, Natsu, I'm just warning you that I go into relationships for the long-run; I don't do anything half-assed. So you better be ready to hand over a shiny diamond if you want this to work. That would include dancing as well, which I know you can't do from experience…."

"I'm down with the whole ring-thing; I don't do anything half-assed either, but isn't dancing just a _bit _too cliché for our unconventional relationship?"

**92. Day of White Hearts**

"How do I know that you won't forget White Day or Valentine's Day? Those two days are very important to us in-a-relationship females."

"I honestly don't see why it would matter; everyone would already know that you're mine, so why would I have to say it out in public? Doesn't saying 'I love you' everyday completely undermine the entire purpose of those two days anyway?"

**93. 'Quid Pro Quo'**

"I want a 'quid pro quo' relationship, ya' know?"

"No, actually, I don't really know what that means."

**94. Vows**

"Out of curiosity, that I probably shouldn't have, what kind of wedding do you have in mind? What kind of vows would you say?"

"Erm…I'm not sure about the whole 'wedding plan', but I do know my vow! After the 'I do' you get to kiss the bride, right? So, I'm just going to say 'I do' a whole bunch of times and call it good!"

**95. More than You Do**

"Natsu…you're already so completely in love with me; and I'm not saying that to be a bitch or anything! I just never expected you to be able to completely devote yourself to one person. I'm more afraid for you this time, Natsu. I don't know if it's possible for me to ever love you as much as you love me."

"I'll have to take what I can get and give everything I have then, isn't that right?"

**96. Special Week**

"What about PMS, you know how I can get. I just want you to know that not everything I say is always true; I'm probably hormone induced."

"Thanks for the warning; and please, _please_, mark a calendar!"

**97. Occupational Hazard**

"I'm a mage; it's almost fifty percent more likely that I'll die on a mission than anywhere else."

"No you won't. That's a completely improbable, impossible possibility."

**98. Love Advice**

"I promise never to listen to Erza's love advice as long as you don't listen to Elfman's or Gray's."

"No, how about the _only person _we _both _ask for advice is Mira? Life will become _much _simpler then."

**99. Falling**

"When, exactly, did you actually fall for me? Until today, you've never actually changed your behavior or demeanor around me."

"If I answer, will you tell me when _you _fell for me? Because I'm pretty sure you've always been like this to me."

**100. Posers**

"We're both gonna have to deal with my old fiancés if we ever get together."

"We'll knock the socks off those posers with our awesome power!"

**101. First Date**

"Alright Natsu. You've completely convinced me; I'll give 'us' a shot. When's our first date?"

"Uh…well, fifteen minutes at the train station…I figured convincing you would take a _whole _lot longer than it did. So, I got us a mission…all the way across Fiore. It'll take two weeks to get there – see you in fifteen!"

**I'M DONE! Geez, that didn't take too long, I suppose. Now, I need everyone to **_**VOTE FOR YOUR TOP FIVE! **_**I really do, ok? **

**This chapter was a long one in the making; very long. I couldn't come up with the very last one, but then, in the middle of the night last night, this one came to me and I was like "THAT'S IT!" So…yeah. Reason #100 was completely random, BTW.**

**DOES ANYONE HAVE GOOD HISTORICAL FICTION OR SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS THAT THEY ABSOLUTELY ADORE? I need some books for Friday, and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!**

**Thank you all my loyal readers! I'll be back in a week or two with the first one-shot of NaLu, until then, I'm signing off!**


	11. NaLu Oneshot 1 Romance

**Oh my goodness! I'm late again! I'm sorry guys! I really don't mean to be late like this all the time, it's just that time slips by me without my awareness of it... Alright, so here's the run down of things, the five most-voted for reasons are going to be turned into one-shots, these are the five;**

**Number 13: Romance**

**Number 17: Simple (Ok, for this one, I have proof, watch the very end of episode 112 – HA! I was right!)**

**Number 40: Jealous**

**Number 45: Possessive**

**Number 46: Love and Like**

**I am actually very happy with the results, I was SO hoping that I would get to do 45, it's my favorite one~! So, here goes number 13, Romance.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail; that right belongs exclusively to Hiro Mashima.**

"It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire."**  
**- Catherine Earnshaw; _Wuthering Heights by Emily Bront__ë_

**Word index at the BOTTOM OF THE STORY!**

**~Lucy POV~**

"Oh! It's just such a wonderful book! Emily Brontë just never gets old!" Hugging the well-worn book to her chest, Lucy couldn't help but start to fantasize about her own love life, or, what it would have been like if she had one.

Her prince would be absolutely perfect; charming, chivalrous, protective, romantic, understanding, everything that a girl could ever dream of. Sky blue eyes and waving blond hair with a killer smile that made all the girls swoon just to look. Her prince would have eyes only for her and catch her whenever she fell. He'd do anything and everything for her, even go and get the moon and stars if she asked. Though, she had to admit, her prince would look much better with pink hair and black eyes than blond hair and blue eyes.

A faint blush dusted over her cheeks at the thought. She liked Natsu and he liked her; it was painfully obvious and yet neither one had done anything about it. They were best friends and partners; nothing more, nothing less. They both had some level of understanding about it and were both aware of the other's feelings though they had an unwritten rule that neither of them was to do anything about lest it compromise both of their own interests and lives.

Lucy cared too much for her own heart to open it completely to someone that – even though she knew he would never do something to purposely hurt her – may not completely understand the consequences of his actions towards her and their relationship. Now, it wasn't fair to say that she was being a stuck up bitch about her and his feelings; quite the contrary. Lucy cared to much for both of their hearts and feelings to try anything, that, and she couldn't hurt Lisanna like that, it just wasn't fair of her to exercise her control over Natsu heart for her own will.

Natsu loved her anyways; as a nakama and as the first person who had never actually outright denied the existence of his father. That love, though not of the kind she would have preferred, was plenty enough for her to survive on. Though she couldn't speak with sure confidence for him, Lucy was fairly sure that Natsu wasn't completely sure what to do with the emotions that he was experiencing when it came to the two of them.

Lucy knew that though Natsu loved every single one of his guild members, all of his nakama, he didn't know how to differentiate between the different kinds of the emotion. Lucy sympathized with him for that; the boy had only really ever known the love of a family and probably never saw how his true parents acted towards one another to see and feel the different atmosphere of a platonic relationship. In fact, Lucy doubted that Natsu even remembered his actual human parents, not that she had ever asked.

Coming out of her some-what rueful musings, Lucy glanced at the clock that she herself had installed above the bar where she normally sat. After learning just how often her nakama lost track of time, Lucy had taken it upon herself to get the clock up and into working order; no help to anyone else in Fairy Tail.

"Helping, they said," she rolled her eyes in lighthearted nostalgia, "of course, yelling at me to punch it so that it'll work is 'helping'." Reading the numbers, Lucy slammed her copy of _Wuthering Heights _on the bar top counter; it was already two seventeen in the morning! Shoving her stool away from herself as she stood up, Lucy took a sweeping glance around the nearly deserted guild; the only people left being a passed out Macao and Wakaba as well as Wendy Marvell who slept in one of the beds in the back rooms of the guild usually reserved for weary messengers and recovering Fairy Tail mages.

Stifling a yawn, the blond mage walked towards the grand wooden doors of the guild's main entrance. Pausing once more, Lucy bit her lip as she turned back towards the two sleeping members of her guild; bot had their heads laid on the rough wooden tables while they sat hunched over on the benches of the same cut. She winced at the thought of how sore their backs were going to be the next day when they woke up; she would know. Even Lucy herself had pulled quite a few overnighters at the guild during the short time she had been there, and waking up to a sore back and an already throbbing head ache from the noise around her hadn't been a pleasant experience.

Turning on her heel, Lucy strode back over to the two middle aged men. Grabbing their handful of beer mugs, Lucy went back over to the bar and put them in the sink, letting them await Mira who Lucy knew would be in earlier than most of the others to tidy up the guild some amount before it was totaled again. Walking back to the guys, Lucy gave each a firm shake until they were blinking blearily at the guild's dim lighting.

"Go home you guys, trust me, you'll thank me for this tomorrow," herding the two half asleep men to the door, Lucy leaned against the sturdy oak while she watched the heavy-stepping pair part ways to each of their respective homes. Stretching out her retiring muscles, Lucy yawned once more before staring the short journey back to her apartment, feet dragging the entire way there.

Climbing the flight of stairs to her apartment after nearly running to the small building from the guild, Lucy slumped against her door frame; finally feeling the exhaustion of two night's worth of sleep-spent-reading catching up to her. Shaking her head at her own carelessness, she grabbed her apartment key from key pouch and unlocked the door, sauntering in like she owned to the place – because she did indeed own the rented accommodation for the time being.

"Finally home...Now I can go and fall asleep in my own bed instead of those hard bar stools," closing the door behind herself before locking it, Lucy set her book down on the table, fingering the cover with a feather touch, "I kinda wish that I could have a romance like theirs; besides the whole twisted plot line part. I wish I could find someone who loves me as much as they love each other; like my father loved Momma..." shaking her head in wry amusement, Lucy moved from her living room coffee table to her bedroom on the opposite side of the house.

Pausing just before her bedroom door, her eye's narrowed in suspicion as per normal when going to bed after a certain Dragonslayer had left the guild. Her experiences prior to the moment had told her to be especially careful before crawling into bed if she had left the guild after Natsu had. Reason being that she'd normally end up finding him under her sheets when she least expected it.

Noting with relief that there wasn't any sign that Natsu had been there, Lucy walked with tired footsteps to her bed, forgoing changing into her pajamas in favor of simply crawling beneath the comforter and falling into her own world or blissful slumber.

**~Natsu POV~**

"Natsu~! What if Lucy finds us? I don't wanna die!"

"Shh! Happy, she's not going to find us, we're ninjas remember?" tugging his scarf to sit on top of his head, Natsu stepped from the shadows of the guild, watching as Lucy trudged back to her home, swaying back and forth as if she was drunk.

"Ne, Nastu, you don't think that Lucy's drunk, do you?" turning to face his companion, who suddenly looked quite worried, Natsu thought about the way that Macao and Wakaba normally walked around when washed, then, finally glancing back to scrutinize Lucy's own gait, Natsu shrugged.

"Dunno, never seen Lucy drunk before. If she is though, she doesn't walk like Macao though, I think we should follow her anyways!" taking off after the blond's disappearing figure, Natsu made sure to stay out of the streetlight's glow. Though Lucy showed no sign of turning around to catch him in his act of stalking, Happy's warning ran much too fresh in his mind to let pass. Last time they had done this – they had honestly just wanted to surprise Lucy for her birthday – she had nearly beat them to death before realizing that it was Happy and himself who had been following her.

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are we following Lucy again?"

"Well, she has to fall asleep first if I want to sleep tonight! Otherwise I'll get kicked out of her bed again...," frowning at the painful memory, Natsu continued his trek after his partner. Wanting to sleep in a bed that wasn't his hammock was only partly the truth. Though there weren't many gangs in Magnolia in fear of Fairy Tail, there was one underground one that surfaced every now and again; Black Widow. Fairy Tail normally didn't bother about them unless someone specifically asked them to. Not long before Lucy had joined the guild, the Widows had nabbed several of the women and children from all around Magnolia and Fairy Tail had been asked to go and nabbed them back. Needless to say, Black Widow now had a thing for Fairy Tail and all of its beautiful mages.

Natsu wasn't a fool, he knew how Lucy looked to other people; a rich heiress, a beauty of Fairy Tail, a weak link to the otherwise strongest team, and an overall walking target. Hell, there was even a time where he himself thought of her as a bothersome person, a weak person. It had been right after he had taken her back to the guild, where he had tried to back away from her little by little so not to have his reputation undone by a single girl. Though his opinion of her had greatly changed over their first couple of missions; he was the brawn and she was the brain. What Lucy had lacked in physical strength she made up for in quick mindedness and strategic – albeit cynical and sometimes money-motivated – planning. He had stopped being indifferent about her after learning to value her for how she was and who she was – he knew that most of the guild had done so before him.

Now knowing that someone could possibly be targeting her for persons she wasn't, Natsu couldn't leave her alone. There was something alluring about the busty blond that he and many others were just so attracted to; her luck, her mind, her personality, her aura, and just _her _in general. He was edgy enough when it came to Loke and Gray sensing Lucy's allure of being just herself – all the people at the guild had long since agreed that it had absolutely nothing to do with her supposed "sex appeal"; after all, they had to live with Mira, Cana, Lisanna, Erza, Bisca, Juvia and many other women well endowed in the "sex appeal" category.

Coming to a halt before Lucy's home, Natsu waited under her window sill until he heard the telltale click of the lock signaling that Lucy was indeed home and entering. Smirking, Natsu jumped up to her window, unlatched it as he almost always did, and clambered in – making sure not to disturb anything in her room and to re-lock the window after entering. Whispering a quick "ojamashimasu*(1)" before stepping further into his blond friend's home, Natsu stopped short when he caught a thin threat of sound from her living room. Against his better judgment – and Happy's vehement signs of protest – Natsu ventured closer to her open bedroom door to catch what she was saying.

"_I kinda wish I could have a romance like theirs; besides the whole twisted plot line part. I wish I could find someone who loves me as much as they love each other; like my father loved Momma...," _Natsu watched as she traced the cover of a well-worn – and in her case, well-loved – book with gentle fingers; a new idea came to him as he stood, watching her forlorn expression smile with a forgiveness he didn't know she possessed. A last touch upon the paper cover left him stunned at the last word her mouth unknowingly whispered – a name that was all he needed to change his plans for the night.

"Why are we stealing Lucy's book?"

"Shh! Don't wake her up!"

"Natsu?"

"Yeah?"

"When did you get a key for Lucy's apartment?" looking over at Happy, Natsu grinned, holding his finger to his mouth with a devious smile. He had actually stolen the key from Lucy's house the first time her had been to her place; after all, he wanted a comfy place to sleep too, and his own place certainly wasn't his definition of "comfy".

"She gave it to me," Happy's jaw hit the floor, his eyes widening significantly before Natsu's obvious lie.

"LIA––"

"SHHHH! You'll wake up Lucy!" an audible snap was heard as the lower half of Happy's jaw flew to connect to the top half.

Locking the door behind him, Natsu smiled gleefully while looking at the prize held firmly in his hands; _Wuthering Heights_. He had heard what Lucy had said earlier, about wanting a romance somewhat like their's, so Natsu was about to attempt to do something he had never done before, he was going to read to find the answer to his problem. That problem being his inability to guess what Lucy wanted from him and his heart. Hopefully, this book held all the answers.

Creeping from Lucy's place with a meaningful glance backwards, Natsu silently promised himself that he wouldn't quit until he had finished the book and his self-appointed mission.

**~Lucy POV~**

She couldn't find it.

She had sworn that it had been on the coffee table when she had fallen asleep, and, if that was so, then why couldn't she find it now?

"Mou! Where'd I put my book? It was right here last night! I know it was!" throwing her pillows from her couch, Lucy frowned in annoyance, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that Natsu was here last night and stole my favorite book! Then again, I've never seen him read before..." clambering over all of her displaced pillows, Lucy made her way once more towards her dismantled room to search through it once more. Tearing open her drawers, Lucy grabbed all of her clothes and flung them out of their places, hoping that she had placed _Wuthering Heights _somewhere where her irrationally tired mind hadn't completely processed the night before.

It still wasn't there!

Clenching her teeth to fight back a few very unladylike curses, Lucy tromped over to her unmade bed, flinging the already disgruntled covers off completely before throwing her pillows onto the floor behind her, her floor almost totally hidden by everything she had displaced.

Walking to her bathroom, Lucy tossed everything from the counters and cupboards over her floor, yes, she knew that it most definitely was _not _in her bathroom, but she was starting to get desperate. It was a keepsake from her mom! One of the only ones Lucy owned!

Nearly slipping on her tooth paste bottle, Lucy moved out of her bathroom and picked her way through her messy room to the kitchen; her mood growing ever darker with each foot fall. Now she was going to have to pick up this mess once she found her book...someone was gonna hear from her.

Pausing, hands on her hips, in the middle of her modest kitchen, Lucy's scrutinized every nook and cranny of her kitchen, on the watch for any place her book could be hiding.

Stalking over to the far end of her kitchen – where her table was located – Lucy pushed the chairs aside to look on the seats of each one before huffing and looking under her table; once again finding nothing, Lucy walked back to the middle of her kitchen, turning to her left, Lucy made her way over to the sink, opening all her cupboards once more as she did so. Shuffling through all the food products, Lucy pulled a few out, reaching her hand deeper into the cupboard where she couldn't see. Seven cupboards later and still no results in the search of her book. Dropping to her knees, Lucy scrambled through all of her Tupperware and cleaning supplies; throwing the things that got in her way to the side onto the tile. Pushing herself onto her feet with her palms, Lucy made her way to the other side of her kitchen.

Not even the oven escaped her search as she tore open the right side of her kitchen as well; the only thing remaining untouched being her refrigerator.

Carefully grabbing a knife from the counter top in front of her, Lucy made a move to turn and put it in the sink, not five steps across the premise. Feet sliding out from under her on one of the tossed-away Tupperware lids, Lucy eyes widened in horror as the knife slipped from her grasp and slashed her thigh open, crimson droplets coloring the floor around her feet. Whimpering, she grabbed the counter top behind her, fingers landing on a pack of red food coloring. Growling in irritation and pain, Lucy slip to the floor; food coloring running down her finger tips under her pajama sleeve. Ignoring the obvious red mess of dye, Lucy poked at her thigh, watching as the dye-like blood oozed from the wound down to the floor.

Taking her bloodied fingers from the gash, she rested her head against the wooden slats of her counter, "I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning. If I had, then none of this would have happened," letting off a much exaggerated sigh she regained her footing whilst keeping most of the pressure off of her right leg. With a goal clearly set in her mind Lucy hobbled back over to the bathroom – peeling off her flannel night shirt in the process before dropping it carelessly in her room.

Kicking things out of her way before stripping the rest of her clothing she turned on the water and let it run before hoping into the balmy water. Watching as red ran down the drain, she couldn't keep the cynical smile off of her face before throwing her head back into the warm spray; so much had happened already this morning – she'd barely woken up two hours ago!

That; and she still hadn't found her book.

Listening to the melody of late morning Magnolia, Lucy walked down the streets in something of unusual attire for herself; she hardly ever wore Capri's in public! Be that as it may, Lucy continued her walked to her beloved guild – the band-aid of her mishap with a knife a constant reminder against the rough fabric of her denim pants.

She hadn't even gotten half way there before her favorite magic cafe came into sight – Levy sitting at one of the front tables with a cappuccino and a book laid out on front of her. Making a decision that Levy was better than most to be the first person she ran into that day, Lucy veered off to the side and opened the door, several floating letters coming to greet her courtesy of the shop's owner; a solid script mage and one of the many McGarden kinsman.

Makeshift Magic was a cozy little place that Lucy had loved ever since she had arrived in Magnolia, the kind atmosphere appealing to both mages and non-mages alike. Everything in the place had some sort of attraction that made it seem as if the place itself was full of magical energy – even if most people knew it was only a cheap parlor trick to enhance business. Magnetic cups and tables to make it seem as if your drink was levitating, light pens to write your orders in, an entirely ceiling full of skylights to make it seem as if you're flying right out there in the elements – you name it, and Makeshift Magic probably had it. For Lucy and Levy, it had quickly became a favorite place of theirs for obvious reasons.

"Levy-chan! I _really _need to talk to somebody right now!" rushing over to her best friend, Lucy quickly flopped down into the chair opposite from her, completely deflating as all her energy escaped her.

"Lu-chan! I was wondering where you were – I mean, it is Saturday after all and you were late for our normal get-together!" smiling wearily, Lucy nodded, by the time she had gotten out of the shower, it had already been two in the afternoon! That was almost and hour later than what she and Levy had agreed upon previously.

"Gomen ne, Levy-chan, but I had a horrible morning! I lost my book, I made a mess of my house, and I cut myself with a knife all within an hour! Oh, and I'm fairly certain that I may have stained my entire kitchen red with food coloring," she hadn't even bothered to try and clean up her house, knowing that once she went home again, she would simply tear it apart once more looking for her book with renewed – or severely frustrated – energy.

"What?! You cut yourself with a knife?!" Lucy slid her chair back slightly as Levy's full attention turned on her; the little woman was scary when she wanted to be.

"Y-yeah...it's not bad though, just a scratch"–– that was a total lie; it had actually cut pretty deep, but Lucy wasn't about to tell frightening little Levy that ––"it didn't even hurt that bad! I'm more worried about what happened to my book and what's gonna happen to my house if I don't clean it up soon," skeptical glances put aside, Lucy thought she did a pretty good job at convincing the cobalt-haired girl that she was indeed fine.

"Was it that book that you were reading yesterday?" Levy was still suspicious, Lucy could see it in her eyes, but, much to her relief, Levy had dropped her inquiries for the time being.

"Yes! _Wuthering Heights_! I can't find it! I think I might have misplaced it or something, but I was certain that last night I put it on the coffee table!" something flashed in Levy's eyes and before Lucy could decipher it, the emotion was gone – hidden behind Levy's eyelids as she started to laugh quite loudly.

"Oh, _that _book! I was wondering why –– Oh, Lu-chan! You don't have to worry about anything! I think I saw someone at the guild with it, they said that they were going to borrow it or something; I think it may have been Erza," Lucy quickly dismissed the idea of asking said person for her book back in a none to friendly manner when the Titania's name was mentioned; no one, absolutely _no one_,got in Erza's way when it came to literature – and her strawberry cake, of course.

"A-ah, ok, I'll just get it back from her when she's done with it then...So, how has your morning been, Levy-chan?" with the book matter shoved to the back of her mind, Lucy was quick to fall back into her normal routine around her friend – even if she did completely miss the glimmer or mirth in the little McGarden's eyes.

"I've been fine – I think I'm finally making some headway with Gajeel; seems like he's finally beginning to notice me! Oh, that reminds me, Lu-chan, how's your own love-life going?"

"It's fine; no one to catch my eye quite yet!"

"Um-hm, really, so, no _late night visitors _of any kind?"

"Levy!"

"Itte*(2)! My head hurts! Why does it always end up like that in the guild? Can't we ever have a normal day, when they don't get into a fight and just simply go home without busting one another's skulls open?" nursing her throbbing head in the palm of her hand, Lucy smiled at the thought of what always happened at her guild – she really didn't mind, and she honestly never wanted the way the guild was to change, yet there was something about the normality of it all that just made her want to complain. Perhaps it was the way Natsu would immediately stop fighting and tell her that she should join in as well and then she'd understand; but Lucy was fairly certain it was a simple as the fact that she was happy to have his undivided attention on her for even the slightest second.

"Look at me; I'm so pathetic. Already pining after him even though I decided that I wasn't going to get anywhere near him. Pathetic, just pathetic."

She had to admit; the feeling she got when Natsu gave his attentions to her was something she could just never get used to. The butterflies in her stomach, the double guessing of her words, the raging hormonal roller-coaster, and the absolute pure bliss at doing something that had no need for rules, regulations, restrictions, battles, or money.

"Oi, Jou-chan*(3)! Wanna come play with us?" disgust schooled her features when Lucy glanced upon the gang of rag-tags thugs obviously drunk of their rockers. And _this _was why she tried to avoid going home alone – or, when she did go home, it was the reason why she tried to stick closer to the river instead of the main streets.

"I think I'll pass," _keep on walking,_ she told herself, _just keep on walking and they'll lose interest. _Unfortunately for her, the odds seemed to be stacked against her that day because the five thugs didn't lose interest, instead they seemed to have gained some from her outright refusal. She stepped back as they stepped closer, but it didn't seem to deter them any from getting into her personal space.

"Come'on girlie, we ain't gonna hurt'cha. We jus' wanna have a lil' fun with'cha is all," backing up until her back hit a wall, she took a look at her surroundings, finding that they had cornered her in an alley. Her skin started to prickle. How had they done that without her noticing? Last she had known, they were a long ways from the nearest alley way.

"Confused there, Jou-chan? You've been caught in our web for a while now. Ever since you stepped back into town from where ever it was you came from," she snapped her head over to the leader of the group, sizing him up as she looked. A sneer the seemed permanently fixated on his too thin face, mustard-yellow eyes that seemed to emphasize his already overly-tan complexion and a thinning head of greasy black hair that look as if it hadn't seen a shower in ages.

"What do you mean 'caught in your web'? I would have sensed if I was placed under a spell of any kind!" in her anger she had shoved herself off of the wall, still keeping a cautious distance between her and the new comer, but forward enough to see the exit behind the four other gang members lurking in their leader's shadow.

"It's simple, Jou-chan," he said, reaching over to grasp her hand, "I'm a spider and you're the prey," tracing her Fairy Tail mark with undoubtedly dirty hands, Lucy felt her disgust rising at a dangerous rate, "and it just so happens that a kurogokegumo's*(4) favorite snack it a pretty little Fairy...Welcome to reality, Yosei*(5), you won't be escaping it for a while."

**~Natsu POV~**

"Finally...finished..." Natsu rubbed his eyes after snapping shut Lucy's book, the idiotic piece of literature had taken him almost an entire day and a half to finish – and that was with only mild breaks!

Contemplating this as he stretched his sore muscles from their hunched over position he himself couldn't believe the fact that he had finished the book that soon. It had been a faster read than he thought – though he wasn't complaining.

"Well, I should probably go return this to Lucy and say what I need to. She's going to totally murder me when she finds out that I was the one with her book though...," he shivered from a chill that he knew had absolutely nothing to do with the temperature outside. Even Lucy was capable of murder when she so chose to be. Natsu thought that when she was mad she easily measured up to Erza, not that he would ever tell her that.

Natsu took off down the familiar path to Lucy's house, book and slightly morbid thoughts coming with him. Lately, he had been trying as much as possible to keep tabs on Lucy without getting to close to her; the Black Widow incident and their promise of vengeance fresh in his mind. He knew for a fact that if they figured out that Lucy was part of Fairy Tail, she would most definitely be targeted. His only solace at the moment was the fact that Lucy had hardly been around the guild for a year – barely enough time for them to figure out that she indeed was a Fairy. Many people – including himself – worried about the well being of some of the other female mages within the guild, though it had become an unwritten law between the men that if you had your eye on one of them, it was your job to protect them.

Erza wasn't much of a worry for anyone; everyone who knew her was too damn scared to say anything the implied her being weak. Though, Natsu was sure Jellal had asked the master not that long ago to watch over her for him – Erza even had gone to the prison where he was held a few times to say hello.

Mira was a worry for most people; the kindhearted barmaid was somewhat of a push over when it came to violence. Both Elfman and Master Makarov had expressed their concerns for her, but just a simple gesture from Mira had them turning their concerns to the younger Strauss sibling. After all, who's to mess with the fiancee of a former Raijinshuu member?

Lisanna was something none of the guild had to worry about either; as it had turned out, she also had a former Thunder Tribe member dogging her everyday.

Bisca had her knight in shining armor watching over her and Asuka with a frightening diligence; leaving no one to wonder at her or her child's safety.

Cana, well, wasn't it enough to say that Gildarts was temporarily staying in town once more?

Levy also was off of Natsu's concern list – he knew his own abilities well enough to know that one of his own kind wouldn't let their own _taisetsunahito_*(6) fall into the hands of the enemy so easily.

Juvia...well, Juvia was Juvia, and she was someone that if she learned who was protecting her, would openly faint or turn into a puddle of boiling water.

Evergreen, though she wouldn't admit it, was definitely glad for the protection of one "manly man" who more than openly drove her insane. Elfman wouldn't be letting anything happen the the sole _Yosei no Yosei Shippo_*(7).

As for little Wendy, Natsu had a feeling that Romeo was keeping a pretty close eye on the clumsy blue-haired Dragonslayer.

All that left was Lucy. Unfortunately, that was Natsu's problem; Lucy was one of the only female members left for the undoubtedly action-hunger male members of the guild. He already had his eye on both Gray and Loke – warning them both to keep their hands off of Lucy's protection policy unless he was unable to. Of course, that was long before Natsu had learned that Gray already had his hands full with his own charge, but that left the bigger of the two issues; Loke.

Loke was with Lucy twenty-four-seven as her number one strongest spirit, and though Natsu knew he could count on the zodiac leader to lend a hand to Lucy when she was in a pinch, he didn't like it one bit. Lucy was going to be _his _and _his _alone; if the stupid lion couldn't get that through his think, spiky-haired skull, Natsu knew that there was going to be absolutely no camaraderie between them save for when it was the object of both their affections that needed to be protected.

Natsu sighed, the nervous energy he had before when he was going to meet Lucy's wrath depleting quickly, even though the threat of an angered Celestial Mage hung over his shoulders. A migraine began to pulse in his temples, making thinking even harder than it had already been with all the worries and distractions piling up in his mind.

_Then stop thinking! _a still-sane part of his mind whispered out to him, _Stop thinking and move on, thinking's never served you before in a tough time; action, it's always been action that's helped you! _He shut off his mind's useless ramblings after that, it didn't help as much as he thought it would – he had finally arrived at the lion's den anyways.

He gulped as he reached his hand towards a door that had always looked so friendly before, now the oaken door seemed to be holding in a sneering laugh at his hesitance to enter. Not forgetting to use the manners that Lucy had drilled into his psyche time and time again, he raised his arm to knock on the door thrice. He figured that it wouldn't be a bad idea to earn some bonus points before explaining to her that it was he who had taken her most prized book. Five minutes later and there was still no answer to his reproachful question of entrance.

"L-Lucy? Are you there?" there was no answer to his verbal question either. Frowning distastefully at his next actions, Natsu grabbed on to the brass knob and yanked.

The door came from its frame as if it had been recently oiled.

_She never forgets to lock her door..._his frown deepened in concern. Sure, it was later in the night, but that was even more reason for her to have locked her door, _what's going on, Lucy?_

Natsu walked into the house his senses alert for anything abnormal; if anything had happened to her, there was going to be hell to pay. No one messed with his _nakama_, especially his _taisetsuna nakama*_(8). He stopped, dead center in her living room. This definitely was **not **normal.

Her couch was torn apart – all the pillows and cushions thrown about the room in a peculiar way that mirrored the attempts of a burglar intent on taking any valuables they could find. Picture frames had been scattered and smashed beneath the weight of many foam and feather stuffed objects if their landing places were anything to go by. Natsu's eyes widened at the state of the normally tidy apartment's state of disorder before narrowing a fraction in response to the growing rage within him. Though it was true that he had seen Lucy earlier that day in the guild, and the mess that was in front of his eyes was definitely not a new thing, he still found the fact that anyone that wasn't him or his other trusted companions had been in Lucy's house.

Trembling with the strong emotions that were currently running rampant through his body Natsu moved from the tattered living room to Lucy's own room, finding the same level – if not of a worse level – of disorder in her own private space. Her prized pieces of literature much like the one he held tightly grasped in his hand were dispersed at random intervals around her room; spines and pages alike facing the glaring ceiling in a almost distraught manner. Piles of her letters to her deceased mother lay forgotten on top in within the sheets rumpled around the foot of her bed. Heated anger pushed at his frayed mentality once more, begging, demanding, ordering to be set free to rip apart the people who had done this limb from limb.

The trail of destruction seemed to lead through her room – past the discarded clothes, through the sea of dispersed cosmetology products, and around the littered items of questionable value – to her bathroom. Amongst the smells of spilled perfume there was something much more disconcerting to his senses; a smell he normally only associated with grumpy women and the battlefield. Pulling back the curtain that separated the shower from the dry part of the room, Natsu felt his skin twitching at the sight before him, small scales beginning to form above his livid eyes at the sight of bloodied clothing sitting in a pool of lukewarm water. Breathing in deeply to calm himself, the motion did anything but – a matching scent to that of the water filling his nostrils from somewhere farther in the apartment.

Before he was aware he had given his body the command to move to the kitchen, Natsu was already there. His initial surprise was withered away with the spectacle before him.

Blood.

Thick crimson droplets were everywhere across the before pristine white square tiles of her flooring. A knife laid forgotten in the middle of the kitchen, her blood already having dried on the steel blade. Sparks danced to and fro on his palm as the air around him wavered and bent at the heat he was admitting, radiating.

The inner fire that burned at his core responded to the vengeful feelings his treacherous mind displayed before his ever diminishing grip on sturdy consciousness. Natsu turned stiffly from the scene to walk out the door, throwing one last murderous and promising look towards the book that had fallen open when he dropped it. He would get Lucy back, if he didn't, then he'd make damn sure to kill every single one of those despicable Black Widows in her absence. After all, he had read every single page of _Wuthering Heights_, and had no intention of letting Heathcliff and Catherine's story become his and Lucy's own.

**~Lucy POV~**

"Yo! Almonst*(8)! Blondie's not looking so good over here!" Lucy barely had the energy to open her eyes, let alone glare at the sleazy leader of the Black Widows as he walked over to her. A double tap on her cheek had her trying to turn away with the lingering sentiments of disgust that she still felt, only to have her face grabbed roughly by a well-calloused hand.

"Eh? Is it true, Yosei-chan? Are you feeling the way your life is draining out of you?" her eyes hardened at his mocking tone, the playful shimmer in his eye belied by the triumphant glaze over top of it. Lucy struggled as his had thumbed her cheek in a caressing manner; he had strapped her into a machine that sucked her magical power into creating a barrier that made it so her presence couldn't be traced by anyone except for those with something physical of hers. As any mage knew – including the Spider Mage standing in front of her – a mage's magical power was their life force, and once it was gone, their life was gone as well. The gang leader, Almonst, had promised her that they wouldn't kill her – though, as she felt another tug followed by a needle-like prickle all over the skin of her arms and legs, Lucy thought that they just might kill her by overestimating her amount of magic.

The feeling got worse as it traveled throughout her body, numbing her to the point where even the rawness of her throat couldn't be felt within the sounds of her screams and the mechanical buzz of the machine behind her. A final drain ran through her system and she was left panting and limp, without energy once more. A final pat on her cheek from Almonst – one that she didn't have the energy to feel anything at – had her face turning away from him at the slight force. Lucy closed her eyes, wearily contemplating her future as the chuckling figure of her tormenter walked away.

Things were looking pretty bad for her at the moment. When they had first grabbed her, Loke had immediately come to her aid, only to help them capture her with a dead look in his eyes. Almonst had smirked at her dumbfounded and slightly fearful face as Loke had tied her wrists together behind her back and bound her ankles within a single step worth of distance from the other. The gang leader had explained to her why exactly Loke was acting as he was; it was his Lost Magic, Black Widow, that had allowed him to link his own conscious to Loke's unsuspecting one and take over the zodiac leader's will so that Almonst's wishes became Loke's. Being as she was, Lucy was unable to call anymore of her spirits, knowing that any of the ones she called would be turned against her. She had no wish to make any of them feel the guilt of betraying her simply because they were ill prepared to combat an enemy.

Not long after Loke had subdued her, Almonst had sent him back to the Spirit Realm with a well placed hit to the back of the neck – something that would have killed a human, or at the very least paralyzed them for life. That was the last moment of clarity that Lucy remembered, everything after was just a blur of color and pain. The things she did remember were short and far between; every time the machine had zapped her for her energy and essentially her life, the times when a pill was shoved down her throat to boost her stamina, the laughing sneers of the gang members every time she screamed, and the second clearest moment she had was the time they had taken her keys from her, forcing several of her spirits out of the realm linked from the Web that Almonst still had connected to Loke's psyche. The immediate drain she felt from the zodiacs' appearance was crippling; the Black Widow leader had even thought it kind enough to allow the spirits to have their own mind's back.

Lucy couldn't forget the haunted looks on their faces when they saw what she was going through; the anger, resentment, apology, torment, agony, dismay, shock, terror, and outrage just to name a few of the emotions she saw reflected in their eyes. She couldn't stand it. She hated, hated, hated it! They shouldn't have had to watch her struggle and suffer as she was without being able to do anything about it.

"_L-Lucy...,what is this?! What's happening to you?!" her eyes focused on Loke, her faithful and most powerful companion out of all her spirits. A small spark of betrayal ignited within her stomach as she looked at him, the hurt overflowing onto her cheeks mingling with the sadness and guilt she felt at making them all watch her ordeal. Knowing that her emotional state wasn't stable, she purposefully ignored his question, choosing instead to turn and glare at Almonst._

"_Almonst, what is the meaning of this?! Send them back, send them BACK!" thrashing against her bonds, Lucy tried her best to launch herself towards the new face of her nightmares. Her friends didn't need to see this, they didn't! It was only she who was strapped to the machine at the moment!_

"_Come now, Jou-chan, of couse you can send them back if you so choose, I am not a killer, my dear, simply an avenger. Now, it might take a higher price than you're used to, but that's beside the point, right? As long as they go back home, then it's fine. Just try, Jou-chan; try. You can send them back, just use your power."_

"_LUCY! What are you doing?! Let us help you!" her face twisted in pain; she didn't want this!Yet, maybe Loke was right, maybe she wasn't the only one hurting here. Feeling the telltale tingle on her skin, Lucy knew that if all of her spirits were here at once, that she wouldn't make it through the next power surge. She couldn't do this...she needed someone else...where was he? Where was the person she trusted most?_

"_Natsu...," mouthing his name to herself she looked at Loke and her other spirits, letting the tears fall and the mocking chortles behind her fade to the background, she could already feel her power draining – she needed help _now_, "Loke, help me, please, help me!" a relieved smile came over all the zodiac's faces, and immediately, Lucy felt her power regenerating._

"_Thank you, Lucy. When we can, we'll go get the others, ok? Just hold on until they come," a flash of light and all of her spirits were gone – all of her friends were gone. Clenching her fist inside of the metal cuff, Lucy couldn't help but wince at the next surge. It hurt no where nearly as bad as the first one, but there was still enough of a pull to hurt a fair amount._

"_My, my, aren't you lucky, Yosei-chan. Lucky Lucy; how ironic! It's almost as if we could have the Heartfilia fortune by simply calling your father! Though; he's dead, isn't he?" he walked closer to her and yanked a fist full of hair down to his height. He laughed once more as she hissed, trying to back her head away from the place he kept her held at._

"_That person isn't me," Lucy hissed from between her teeth, "I'm Lucy. Just Lucy. And you have no right to speak of my father!" pulling herself forward with what little leverage she could muster, Lucy drew forward and bit Almonst's arm. She didn't let go even as he dragged her hair from his arm. Mild relief came as he let go of her hair, though, it was short lived as a slap was thrown against her cheek, jarring her teeth and forcing her to let go of his arm._

_Now it was Almonst's turn to hiss as Lucy spat the blood that had pooled in her mouth onto the floor, "Turn up the voltage!" her eyes widened at the command. Were they forgetting the promise they had made not to kill her? Was she really going to die here? Well, if she did, then these people would be in a living hell for the rest of their lives with Fairy Tail breathing down their necks. _

"_You can't kill me," Almonst glanced over in her direction, but she paid no mind, for her thoughts were far away from the place she was at, remembering the words she had said what seemed like forever ago when Phantom Lord had come and kidnapped her for her father's own wishes._

"_What was that, Yosei?"_

"_I said that you can't kill me, Almonst. It's impossible for the likes of you." she smirked, this was perfect! She was going to tell them just how much trouble they were in before she was ultimately done in by lack of energy._

"_What do you mean 'the likes of you'? I am the most powerful one here, Fairy, and I will be thought of as such by my prisoner!"_

"_T__hen why don't you try killing me? If you do that, you'll be in bigger trouble than this! Fairy Tail will never forgive you! That's the kind of guild they are! You'll be shivering under the shadow of the world's scariest guild every day for the rest of your life! I will never die because they will always remember me!" the words rolled off of her tongue so easily that Lucy was even surprised by herself. Though, if she could bait them to prolong her struggle instead of kill her at once, then her guild had more of a chance of finding her than they did at the moment._

"_Turn the voltage back to what it was previously, Takeshi! We're going to make this one suffer for a while," plan succeeded, Lucy then had no choice but to sit and watch as her life unfolded before her eyes._

"What are you grinning at, Blondie?" coming out of her reverie, Lucy focused her gaze at the man behind the controls of her personal hell. If she had seen Takeshi on the road she may have pursued him in a romantic way; he was definitely her type. Shorter brown hair cut neatly and kept in a spiky fashion, cool blue eyes that showed calm self-confidence, a tanner complexion that completed his southern looks, and a killer smile that Lucy would have loved to stare at for as long as she could (though she was seeing that her tastes in the ways of smiles were changing – she now preferred a more boyish grin).

"Memories...," she whispered vaguely, "things I have yet to do..." his killer smile – this time in a very literal way – was fixated on her face, his own daunting orbs boring into her's. A shiver went up her spine as his smile morphed into something sinister.

"Listen, Heartfilia, I have no intention of letting you leave this place alive," alarms rang in Lucy's mind – wasn't there a hierarchy in their gang? With Almonst at the the head of it? "We're all here for our own reasons, Hearfilia. We don't have a ruler, just a majority. Unfortunately, I was the minority. I will still get revenge for my sister yet. Just remember, Heartfilia, you aren't the only one with family here." Lucy didn't even know what this was about! All she knew was that they had kidnapped her to settle some sort of vendetta against Fairy Tail.

"I don't know what you're talking about! I've never seen you people before in my life, and I'm sure that was happened between you and Fairy Tail has to do with the older generation! Most of them are too old to be going out on missions now – last time Macao went out, Natsu and I had to go rescue him! He has a son as well, don't you forget that you aren't the only one with family here!" a faster paced surge than normal came upon her then and between the squinting lids of her eyes, Lucy could see Takeshi's livid face snarling as his hand moved the controls all over the lacrima board. A scream rippled up her throat, opening up the rawness that had finally started to heal once more.

"Shut you impudent mouth, wench! Don't speak of things that you don't know about! My sister would never have died if your people wouldn't have attacked us!" Lucy grit her teeth against the pain and effectively stopped the gut wrenching cries that issued from her mouth.

"Take your own advice! You know nothing of Fairy Tail! We would never attack someone without a solid reason!" the voltage continued to get higher and higher, longer and longer. She was sure that it had been well over five minutes that Takeshi had left the machine on, and she also knew that if it wasn't soon turned off, she wouldn't make it five more.

"You had no reason! All of you damned Fairies took away my family, my home, my _love_! No...I don't care about that ransom Almonst put out to your guild, I don't care about a petty revenge where the perpetrator walks away free...I demand _retribution_, _repayment_; I demand the equivalent suffering that I had to endure! This is your judgment, Fairy. Not for your wrong doings, but for your so called families. Die with the knowledge that they killed you with their own selfish acts!"

The surge was getting stronger still – and Lucy was wondering why she was even holding on. What was it that she had to do yet? Who was it that she still wanted to see? Why wasn't she dead, it felt as if she should be. Wouldn't that be much easier; death? It would make the pain go away. It would make all the suffering stop. But she couldn't! As her vision faded into black and her mind dimmed into nonexistence, a name surfaced into her mind. A name that she trusted. A name that she had called on so many times before in a situation such as this. It was _his _name.

"_NATSU!"_ a frantic call, a shot in the dark before she fell in – and she wasn't even aware that she had called to him out loud.

**~Natsu POV~**

Not this time, they weren't getting her this time.

He had already done the whole worrying thing with the Phantom Lord fiasco; if anyone else was going to mess with Lucy, then he was going to deal with them directly – orders or not, authorization or not, comrades or not. He was not about to let the person who directly held his heart die because of his carelessness. He was going to get her back – and heaven help those who got in his way. They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but he had to disagree. Hell has no fury like a livid Dragonslayer.

Shoving the Black Widow punk he had caught earlier against a building wall, Natsu growled in annoyance. He had beat the idiot several times, threatened to reduce him to ashes, and yet he still refused to talk.

"I'll as you one more time, scum, where is she?" ramming the teen up the brick wall higher, Natsu made sure to scuff the boy's back against the rough cement while twisting his fist up into the high black collar of his shirt.

"I-I don't know who you're talking––" the unnamed grunt's denial was cut off as Natsu restricted his airways. A murderous look settled over Natsu's face as he continued to constrict the Widow's breath.

"Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. Blond, brown eyes, about five-four, Celestial Spirit Mage – got it yet, punk? She's the one you were just boasting about capturing," a terrified expression crossed the captive's face before Natsu let up on strangling him enough to allow him to breath.

"O-oh! H-her; yeah, I-I know wh-where she is, just, uh, l-let me d-down and I'll s-show you the w-way," Natsu's eyes narrowed in barely concealed suspicion. Should he really trust this guy?

"Listen, cross me, and you won't live three seconds past the action, do we understand each other?" a frantic – albeit inhibited – nod was all the answer he needed from the terrified person in front of him. Dropping the boy's collar unceremoniously and starting apace which was sure to keep the shorter kid stumbling after him, Natsu stalked forward, waiting for some form of direction from the shuffling foot falls behind him. His hand brushed against the band of his waistcoat and Natsu felt the reassuring feel of the trustworthy book by his side. That same book that had first given him the confidence to make sure everyone knew that Lucy was his and the very same book that had gone through the entire ordeal right next to him; seemingly playing out the tragic theme depicted on its pages into the real world.

"D-do you have a p-possession of the H-Heartfilia girl's?" Natsu grunted an affirmative. The question was hardly worth answering. Of course he had something of Lucy's! He had both her key and her book along with him, "G-good. T-that's the o-only way to f-find where she i-is." at this, Natsu turned his head sharply – the angle and light giving his face a predatory demeanor.

"Why's that, brat?"

"Aquile."

"What?" the kid hadn't answer his question and Natsu had no patience for trivial things. He needed answers and someone's face to smash in.

"M-my name; Aquile Minnago. The r-reason that you need s-somehting physical of h-her's is because of the barrier that su-surrounds where s-she's being kept," Aquile's voice continued to grow a little less shaky as time wore on. Natsu noticed that when he wasn't scared half to death, the kid had the spark and the confidence to become a real mage, "if you don't have a physical possession then the barrier will transport you to a different place with no recollection of why or how you got to that place or what you were doing before you got there." Natsu nodded in understanding while slowing his pace for the kid to catch up. After all, it wouldn't do him any good now to get lost.

"Listen, Aquile, when all this is said and done, try finding a real guild to join, because I'm assuring you that there won't be anything left of this counterfeit when I'm through with it. You've got what it takes to make it, now just make sure you don't take that for granted," he didn't need to receive the thanks that Aquile was trying to push on him – the fact that Natsu had saved the kid time by telling him what to do after tearing apart Black Widow was the only gratification he needed. If the kid would join an official guild, then Natsu decided that he may be willing to hear his thanks.

"Salamander-san, we're here," indeed they were, this place had "evil secret lair" written all over it, who still has their head quarters in a deserted warehouse district anymore? "what are we going to do now?" Natsu was slightly surprised by the fact that Aquile had referred to them as a team instead of just Natsu himself, though, he supposed that it indeed would be good to have another person with him, even if it were to only take out all of the lower ended gang members.

"We're gonna bust this place up. Bust it up real good. I don't want a single brick left over by the time all this is said and done," crackling with the charged atmosphere around him, Natsu walked over to the warehouse door and kicked it open with a resounding echo, "Now, let's get started."

Natsu dropped the last two grunts on the ground after making sure to crack their heads together hard enough to knock them out for the remainder of the battle. He looked over to Aquile and saw the fourteen year old dusting off his hands after defeating the last of his former teammates as well. Evidently, loyalty was not the highest priority in Black Widow and Natsu was slightly grateful that Aquile had taken the moment they arrived to payback all his retributions – tenfold.

"Well, now that that's over whe––"

"_NATSU!" _they both paused for a moment before Natsu earier rage consumed him once more. Whatever they were doing to her, it wasn't good and he didn't like it. Forgetting that he didn't know where Lucy was being held – after all, now he could both hear and smell her now that he was in the building – Natsu took off down the hallway towards her voice and the sounds of a grinding machine – Aquile following confoundedly behind.

"Lucy...," worry was starting to replace his fear: what if he was too late? What if she was already gone? What would he find when he finally got to her? The building gave a sickening crunch as the machine started to shake the building. He could see it now, the room where she was being held. Speeding into the room at a sprint, Natsu and Aquile stopped in their tracks at the sight before them.

Lucy was engulfed by the same machine that was making the building shake, both her hands and her feet inside metal cuffs that had a set of glowing runes running the perimeter. Her back was pressed against what seemed to be another magic circle turning behind her. Golden tendrils of magic danced across her skin and her eyes were half closed in a sure sign of her fading conscious. Her hair floated freely around her face and shot up in every direction as the magic snaked through it. Beads of sweat ran over her and wracking seizure-like shivers shook her entire body.

"Ah, Aquile, you've brought the representative from Fairy Tail, have you? So, Salamander, have you brought the compensation that we've demanded?" the black haired, green eyed teen stepped forward, revulsion coloring his expression and tone.

"What the hell are you doing to her?! You promised that you weren't going to kill the Hearfilia girl! Why are you going back on your word, Takeshi?!"

"I don't want petty _revenge _Aquile, I want _retribution _for all of Fairy Tail's wrongdoings, I want _repayment _for all the lives they've stolen from me and all the other's families. I want the equivalent suffering unto those who have caused unimaginable pain unto me! _That girl _will be the first to feel my pain, my wrath, and then all of Fairy Tail – not a single Fairy will be spared! Not a single mage will go free without a taste of my pain! You can either join me or turn from me, Aquile, but I can promise you, that whatever happens, that girl will not be alive to see it. Why, even as we speak, she's slowly dying at the hands of the very machine that has hidden her from her supposedly 'caring family' for nearly the past ten hours! My plan starts there, I will break apart Fairy Tail's ties––"

"But we are here to give you your ransom, you bastard. I've got it right here if you want to come and get it," he interrupted the twisted man's speech with his own declaration. Natsu was far past the point of tolerance with Takeshi and had taken the situation into his own hands. He was getting Lucy out of there, one way or another.

"Fine, boy. Bring it here. Let me see Fairy Tail's 'ransom'," Natsu stepped forward, his head bowed to keep the savage leer glistening in his eyes from promising Takeshi all the pain Lucy was sure to be in. Just to keep himself locked in his resolve, Natsu kept his gaze focused on Lucy making sure to watch her with an underhanded look across the room from under his bangs. A grip on his shoulder – friendly, but warning – made Natsu pause. Before he could rethink his action, Natsu had already flashed Aquile the look he had wished to reserve for Takeshi. The firm grasp lessened until Natsu was able to pull his shoulder from Aquile's hold.

"Don't worry about it, Aquile. Just keep an eye on Lucy for me," he didn't have time for the petty emotion that welled up inside him when he thought about how he hadn't told Aquile about his split second plan. Guilt had no place here, Natsu knew that. Guilt had no place in a battle situation – only in the aftermath. He had no intention of feeling that emotion during this operation again. Guilt would me had had failed, after all.

His pace continued under Aquile's eye until he had reached the place where Takeshi was sitting behind some kind of control board. His eyes flashed at the the diagram of Lucy within the automaton; runes pointed to some part of the device as well as Lucy herself. His eyes scanned the numbers for a moment before Takeshi's arm covered the majority of the lacrima screen.

"So, Yosei, what had you brought me as retribution? I can't wait to see it," though he could hear the mutterings of the self-assured Black Widow, Natsu was in no state of mind to listen. There was one number on the bar that was flashing red and depleting at a rate that Nastsu wasn't sure he cared for. The number's line went to stretch out to touch Lucy's neck – right by where Natsu knew the pulse point was. The numbers were burned in his brain as each one counted down with every beat of his own heart; fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve, eleven, ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three––

Another flashing button of red appeared on the screen: "abort". Without thinking for more than a second's worth Natsu had pressed the button that he hoped would solve all of his issues. A series of commands appeared under the button but Natsu was never able to process them as a fist came flying into his jaw from the side.

Staggering back along with the sucker punch Natsu took the chance to glance over at Lucy's condition. He was more than surprised to see a flicker of magic on a manual control panel on the instrument itself. Risking a closer look with his opponent closing in on him, Natsu saw that it was Aquile who was using his magic to shut down the mechanism. In a part of his psyche that was still unoccupied he resolved to ask Aquile what his magic was exactly; he hadn't seen the former Black Widow use his magic against the grunts now that Natsu thought about it. He had only used some form of martial arts.

"That was a low trick, Fairy," his thoughts took a u-turn to get him back to the battle. In said battle, Takeshi had closed in a threatening distance to pull back his fist once more before going in to punch Natsu. As his arm came forward the glimmer of a magic circle caught Natsu's eye. Ducking around the punch, Natsu was surprised to see an arm of steel above his head.

_Is he like Gajeel? No, that's not possible. That would make him a Dragonslayer as well. _Lighting his fist, Natsu brought it up for a straight uppercut to Takeshi's jaw. The likes of which never hit as his opponent's body disappeared.

"You can't hit me, Salamander. No one can. I can turn my body into whatever I want! Metal, carbon, air, water, all I have to do is up the amount of elements in my blood and I immediately transform into that element or compound! I can hit you; but not a single person can hit me!" another flash and there was an iron fist making a nice print on his face. Natsu was sent flying backwards from the punch – into the wall just a few hundred feet from where Aquile had succeeded in pulling Lucy out from her place of torture.

"_Shut up_! Everyone can be hit by the other's attack, Takeshi! You won't be able to keep transforming like that forever!" Natsu snarled at Aquile's interference. He was trying to keep Takeshi from noticing the demolished machine and the freed prisoner. Though, with Aquile, Natsu supposed that he shouldn't have tried to guess the kid's performance in the throes of an action situation. Natsu pushed himself from the rubble as Takeshi took a step forward towards Lucy and Aquile.

"Your opponent is me, Takeshi!" this time, the Black Widow wasn't able to change quick enough to evade Natsu's flaming punch, "See, bastard? I can too hit you! You keep your eyes on your opponent!" he backed off slightly to give himself some breathing room as Takeshi pulled himself out the hole created by Natsu's attack.

"I will not be hit again...NEVER AGAIN!" Takeshi threw himself at Natsu sending him flying once more with an up-ended kick. Natsu flipped in the air berating himself for his abnormally slow reaction. Using his falling momentum he lit his foot on fire, bringing it down with as much force as he could muster.

"_Karyū no Kagitsume_!" Natsu's attack came into contact with the crossed metal arms of Takeshi's magic. He applied his own force to the diminishing momentum's giving his attack all the extra power he could spare. The ground cracked under Takeshi's feet and the concrete snapped at the different points where each six-by-six foot long tiles were laid. Natsu lost his power and made sure to kick himself back a healthy distance. He watched as Takeshi's arms lost their metallic qualities as he too breathed heavily, watching Natsu just has he watched Takeshi.

"Salamader-san! His magic is Alchemy Exchange! When he turns into air once more, make sure to hit him with fire; it should finish this battle quickly just as we need. I'm afraid for her life, Salamander-san!" _her life_, the words rang in his head much longer than they should of. The furious fire lit inside his stomach once more and he ached to do as Aquile had told him. He wanted to beat this guy within an inch of his life to give _him _a taste of Lucy's own suffering. A chuckle brought Natsu's attention back to the present and away from all of his conflicting emotions.

"Well, now that you know how to beat me, I suppose I shouldn't transform into my default element. No matter though, I will beat you without the need of such a contemptible method and once I do, you Aquile Minnago will be the last to die. I have no need for traitors within my ranks," Aquile gaped openly at the brunette in front of him, utter disbelief blazoning on his face.

"_Your ranks_?! What about my brother?! He's the leader of the original Black Widow! The one that helped all of the citizens of Magnolia that couldn't afford Fairy Tail's held! We stood for the widows dressed in black the day their husbands and lovers died! How could you take over something my brother put everything into so halfheartedly?! You're disgracing him with your acts! You were his most trusted person, Takeshi!" fire blazed in Aquile's eyes and Natsu could see it from where he was standing more than two hundred feet from Aquile's person.

"Your brother is _weak, _Aquile. He's changed ever since Sara died and you know it! He doesn't help those widows in black anymore and––" his mouth shut with an audible snap and his muscles started to seize before he shakily set himself on the ground. Natsu looked on with confusion, he certainly hadn't made a move forward to detain the man, so who had?

"Lost Magic; Puppeteer. I won't stand for you saying anything else degrading about my family. I control your body, Takeshi, die with the knowledge that I avenged my sister and my brother with this act – after all, those lacrima you planted in them proved useful in the end, right?" Natsu's rigid posture went slack when the threat of unknown magic dissipated. Aquile was a Lost Magic user? Well, that was something to think about, "Listen, Salamander-san, I'm going to turn him into the New Magic Council for all of his crimes in Magnolia. Please don't hold it against Black Widow, Salamader-san, and, I do think that I'm going to take your advice; I'm going to start a guild. Hopefully, you and I will be having a battle in the Grand Magic Games some time, ne?"

Natsu couldn't help but smile as Aquile turned away, making Takeshi stand and unwillingly walk away towards his own sentence. Before he could over think anything Natsu was heading over to Lucy's side, relieved to find her seemingly asleep and breathing.

"Don't scare me like that again, Lucy. I don't think the city would survive it. Come on, we're going home where you can rest," slinging her arm over his opposite shoulder Natsu was able to tie her wrists to his muffler and carry her on his back as he had did what seemed like forever and a day ago from Phantom Lord's castle, "I love you Lucy," he whispered to the ground and to her sleeping figure.

Well out of the Black Widow's warehouse by now, Natsu was not expecting her arms to tighten around his neck and her whispered response.

"I'll expect romance." a thin smile appeared on his face as he thought of what had just transpired throughout the night. She really must have wanted to tell him the same thing is the tears and her own plush smile pressed against his neck was anything to go by.

"The least I can do is light a few candles."

**Well, that's the first one-shot to hit the dust – DO NOT EXPECT ALL OF THEM TO BE THIS LONG! I wasn't really sure what I was doing with this one; I had wanted to get it up several weeks ago but then it just kept getting longer...and longer...and longer...until it was a full twenty and an eighth pages long. **

**THIS ONE-SHOT IS UP FOR ADOPTION! Just this one-shot though, if anyone would like to improve upon it and twist it into their own fully chaptered story. If not, then I may debate on making it one of my own stories. **

**_ALSO, I HAVE ANOTHER CONTEST! _Do you have a favorite Reason? Well, then tell it to me how you hear it in your own one-shot! I'm ready to give people proper credit and recognition in this story for their own – and I REALLY want to read some of you people's stories. **

**So, review and tell me what you think! I'm going to be updating every other Friday from now on, so please expect the chapters at that time! THANKS FOR BEING PATIENT! **


	12. NaLu Oneshot 2 Simplicity

**I'm back! **

**Sorry guys, I went a week longer than I said I would; who else thinks that school life is way too stressful for hormonal teens to have to go through? *raises hand* I know that's how I feel!**

**Any-how, this is the second NaLu oneshot; Simple. And, for simplicities sake, it's going to be renamed 'Simplicity' because it makes much more sense. Then again...I could just call it 'Simple Minded' couldn't I? Ah, well, read on my perpetually patient friends!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail. Mashima-sensei does. Lucky-duck...**

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"_**Natsu, do you have anything in your head except eat, sleep, and fight?"(Happy)**_

"_**Sure I do! Sneak into Lucy's house, play pranks on Lucy, Lucy––"(Natsu)**_

"_**Sounds like this might go on for a while...can you write it down?"(Happy)**_

**Fairy Tail; episode 112; 23:56 – 24:24.**

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Sometimes she wondered if there was actually anything going on inside Natsu's head. Honestly, how could someone with as much power as him be this simple?

To Lucy, when she had first met him at least, his simple mindedness had been an endearing quality. He had thanked her so graciously when she had fed him lunch that afternoon during their first meeting; then, of course, he had saved her not a few hours afterward.

That in itself still puzzled her. How had he known where Bora's boat had been? Had he been following her ever since she left the small tavern that they had grabbed a bite to eat at? She hadn't sensed anyone following her; then again, her powers of observation back then weren't all that they could have been. He had surprised her quite a few times that day in no less then a few hours. First, mindlessly saving her from falling under a cheap Charm Spell spell Bora had tried to put her under.

She still couldn't believe that she had fallen for that.

Second, he had restored her faith to the guild she now held so dear after Bora had lied and tarnished their name. She had to admit, the simple fact that he had wanted so badly to restore his guild's honor was charming (and no, not in the way Bora was); he just seemed so sincere when it was happening.

She started to understand him right then and there; through him, she started to understand Fairy Tail as well.

Third, the final and by far most meaningful thing that had happened to to her that hectic summer day, was when Natsu had grabbed her hand and tugged her along all the way to Fairy Tail. She had been overjoyed to learn that the guild she cherished from the sidelines was not one of lying slave-traders, but one of joyful, honorable, albeit destructive, mages who sought a family out of their comrades; their _nakama_.

She never did believe something so _simple _as family was out there; after all, her family was hardly a loving sort.

Yet, she found his endearing simplicity to sometimes come of as a dense ignorance that drove her insane at times; like a time such as now.

"Lucy! Come on, let's head out on another mission! I found the perfect one!" _yup, _she smiled exasperatedly to herself, _definitely simple._

"Ne, ne, Natsu; this'll be our third mission this week – and it's only Wednesday!" the Dragonslayer paused before her table.

"Yeah, I know that this is the third mission this week, but I _really _need some more food money, and no one else will go with me, so will you come with me?" she set down her book and took the paper he held out to her, missing, as she read, the softening in his eyes as he looked down at her.

The mission was something that wouldn't take more than a few hours – a good five minutes if Natsu had anything to do with it. Demolishing things just so happened to be his specialty. She wouldn't mind the job either; pent up energy and stress were best relieved by working with one's own hands – or magic, as she would be using.

"Fine, Natsu, let's head out. We can walk there if you want, it's only a few miles away from town," she honestly didn't want to walk, walking meant sore muscles and aching bones by the time they got there. Lucy had definitely had enough of that with the past two missions she had been on. High paying missions for a long, overdue rent. Looking for all those clock parts had depleted her store of money in an untimely fashion. It hadn't helped that her cumbersome conscience had demanded that she give a small portion of her meticulously saved Jewels to her _nakama _for helping and saving her during that time.

"_Yosh_! Oi, Happy, let's go; Lucy's coming too!" as he ran over to his long time partner, Lucy couldn't help her own smile that adorned her face. He was simple, frighteningly so, but he knew how to get her mind off things when the world pressed down on her shoulders. Pushing herself off the wooden bench, she proceeded to grab her bad at the end of the table. Until something was shoved into her hands.

"By the way, we're taking the train! I already got us some tickets!" Lucy was startled by Natsu's forwardness at freely volunteering to take any form of transportation. Perhaps something good would come of this adventure, she mused to herself as she picked up her book; _How to Build a Konzern_.

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She had been right, the demolition job had taken a full ten minutes – only five minutes past her original estimation. Not that she minded at all, it had seemed that Natsu was having some much fun that it really didn't matter that he had puked on her shoes on the way back to Magnolia. His joy was infectious, his smile contagious. She hadn't felt so lighthearted since...since...When had that last time she had felt so carefree been?

She paused while unpacking, hearing the banging of her door that was indefinitely her landlady. She sighed, walking over to the door with an envelope containing some of her mother's old jewelry. It was some priceless stuff and it would undoubtedly please her fickle landlady and buy her another month until rent was due.

"Oi, Jou-chan, you're rent's been bumped up to 80,000 Jewel instead of 70,000," at this Lucy felt the stone that had been in her throat drop to her stomach. She was going to have to give even more of her memories away to continue living and making new ones, "though you're lucky. You don't have to pay this month. A kind benefactor who wishes to remain anonymous paid off your rent for this month. Feh, you're one blessed girl to have so many handsome men falling on their faces for you to even glance their way. Remember, Jou-chan; next month, 80,000 Jewel. Don't be late or I might just find another client that can pay my rent."

Lucy stood there at the door long after her landlady had left. Paid? Her rent? Who could have done it? She certainly hadn't and her father's benefaction money had long since run out.

She hadn't been dating anyone for a while now. Not since, well, not since the S-Class Exams. It wasn't every day that you learned just how much a person meant to you through many near death experiences and she intended to strengthen her bonds with the people she cared about most before pursuing her own romantic interests.

That meant that the mystery-man had to be someone who either admired her from afar, was a past ex, or was someone that she knew from the guild. Lucy immediately outlawed several of the people she had come in contact with and was still in contact with.

There was no way, in this world or the next, that half the people in the guild would help her pay her way through her month's rent. Normally, she'd say that they'd all be more than willing to oblige her a small fee in return for her companionship or something of the like; she said 'normally' because everyone else was just as broke as she was. She even heard that some of the less fortunate mages – Natsu and Gajeel; not to point fingers or anything – had taken to sleeping over at the guild now that they had been evicted from their homes. Evidently Natsu's old abode had been turned into a sushi restaurant in the past seven years.

Though the knowledge of hard times was widespread and plentiful for her beloved guild, there wasn't much she could do to help except for the random loans she took from her father's life insurance. Even that was running low and Lucy was using it as sparingly as she could. Most of the things she bought with it were for the guild, and, as selfish as it sounded, she was starting to regret the numerous albeit small purchases she had made for her makeshift family.

After all, there was no way for her to enjoy her family if she couldn't live with them.

Even after all the revelations and enlightenments made on the financial status of the personal and public parts of guild life, Lucy was still no closer than when she began to finding the person who had paid her rent.

Not that she was complaining, of course.

Her mother had always told her not to look a gift horse in the mouth – whatever that meant, anyway.

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It was the after her crushing defeat at Flare Corona's hands that his simplicity came in handy once more.

Not that it hadn't before then – she had long since figured out that it was him who had paid her rent that day when she felt the world bearing down on her. It was just..._different _this time around. His simplicity, she meant.

But, back to what had led up to his reassuring - though maddening - simple help...

Why had she been so _stupid_?

Had she honestly thought that she could have gone up against someone from Raven Tail and win where both gray and Wendy had fallen before her? Wendy; a Dragonslayer of untapped magical energy had just barely managed to beat off a member of Lamia Scale, and they weren't even the real problem. Even her newest spell, the Shattering Light: Sky Drill couldn't stop Chelia's attack.

Not to mention that Lucy knew that they weren't below using underhanded methods to get what they wanted. She was responsible for what they had done to Wendy. The sweet, innocent Slayer was mistakenly kidnapped in her place. It should have been her who was being treated by Porlyusica after being drained of magical power, not Wendy!

Then there was Gray; the guy who could seriously go up against Natsu in a battle of wills and strength. Gray; the strongest Make Magic user she had ever encountered. Gray; who was brutalized by Nullpuding of Raven Tail. How could she, someone with such little power, ever hope to even put up a fight with the notorious guild known for playing dirty? Even with Juvia, a former S-Class and a worthy opponent, the two had been at the mercy of that damn guild during the Grand Magic Game: Hidden.

Why had she even thought for a _moment _that she could stave off a backstabbing Raven with the want to eradicate any and all Fairies she came across?

Had she _really_, _truly, honestly _thought that she could put up a fight just simply because she had gotten a few tips from Capricorn about her abilities? Just because Ultear had unlocked Second Origin? Had she really even harbored the audacity to believe that she was worth anything but another slot filled to her team?

The battle had started. Everything was in her favor. She was on top of the world! She could summon multiple spirits at once; hell, she even was able to cast Urano Metria!

She could _win. _She was _going _to win.

Then everything went wrong. _Everything_.

She had almost killed Asuka! She had almost cost Bisca and Alzack so much strife just because she was overly confident! How could she have been so blinded by confidence that she couldn't see the dirty tactic coming before it had?

She hadn't even been able to fight back least she hurt the small child. The little Fairy that had every right to despise her; to loathe her with every fiber of her small being.

Couldn't she do _anything _right?!

"_Don't make a sound, don't move, don't use magic; that's an order."_

"_If you disobey me, who knows what'll happen?" _maniacal laughter and dirty tricks. Orders from enemies and prices to pay.

"_I-I surrender." _Do something right for once. Keep Asuka safe. Do something right. Uh-oh.

_I did something wrong!_

"_Who said it was ok for you to speak?!" _He had heard her, right? He was so simple mided that he had to have been focusing whole heartedly on the battle right? Save her. Save Asuka!

"_I heard it! 'Asuka-chan' right? Lucy! Now's your chance!"_

_Thank you, Natsu._

He heard. She had still lost.

"_It...It's my win...Serves you right, Blondie! Shameful! Unsightly! Pathetic! **Loser**!" _The insults didn't stop. The bitterness wouldn't go away. The jeers from the crowd struck deep, and yet...

"_Don't cry, Lucy...Let's save the tears for when we win!" _He had saw it all. Every struggle she went through, every beating and blow she had shouldered.

He knew her better than anyone else, absolutely anyone.

Perhaps, this is what she had done right.

"You were amazing! Thanks to you, we realized we could fight in this world!" He had pulled her up, grabbed a losers hand.

He had smiled a simple smile, and she found that she liked simplicity.

Simplicity didn't have losers or winners; just people.

Just her, and just Natsu. Something..._simple_.

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After that, Lucy had found it much easier to accept defeat at the hands of Raven Tail. Sure, she still got angry, still got pummeled, but she had something more than just Fairy Tail on her side; something more than just her friends.

Of course! Why hadn't she seen it before? He mother had been telling her all the time about it! It was always in all the story books that Layla had read before laying her child down to sleep!

It was 'TheOne Magic'. Utterly simple.

It made her unafraid in her next battle against Minerva.

Even though she lost again.

No one else knew, but Natsu had come back before the five person battle. He had just sat there, waiting for her to awake.

"Natsu," she had called, "what are you doing? Shouldn't you be getting ready for the next phase?" She hadn't the energy to look up at him, hadn't even had to energy to open her eyes or release her keys from her vice like grip. In all honesty, she didn't know what had given her the power to speak to him, but she was glad that whatever it was had.

"I am getting ready. Ready to beat those bastards into the ground for what they did," she didn't have to look. She knew that tone. She knew what was going to happen to Sabertooth once he got out in the arena.

"Natsu," that hadn't stopped her from wanting – needing – to ask, to reassure, the reason why it was so, "why aren't you mad at me for losing? Why don't you look down on me for being weak?" it was dead silent.

Words couldn't begin to describe the way he was feeling at the moment. Rage. Torturous thoughts. A desire to kill. Red dancing in his vision.

They had made her think, made Lucy, his most prized nakama think, that she was _weak_. They had just sealed their dooms. Their six-feet-under burial. Their absolutely brutal demise.

"I know that you guys are so much stronger than me, so wh––"

"_Not another word. I don't want to hear it._" It was quiet again.

Natsu reveled in the sound of her beating heart, the one that had been torn out and stomped on so many times and then haphazardly thrown back into her chest. It beat strongly, a steady rhythm that his own seemed to match without so much of thought on his part.

He needed to protect that heart of her's; he wouldn't stand for her to rip it to shreds with her own demeaning words. He may not be able to protect her during the games. He may not be able to protect her from himself. But he sure as hell would protect her from herself and all her insecurities.

It had started with her battle against Flare Corona; that much he knew. He had seen every bit of it. Heard her every whispered word that she muttered under her breath. She _was _strong! Stronger than any foe he had faced before. Stronger than any guild could ever hope to be.

Funny, that. It always boiled down to her strength.

"Lucy, listen to me," he had told her, every bit of the careless person she knew wiped from his tone, "I'm going to destroy them. I will tear down their guild and come make each and every one of them come and bow at your feet while they beg for your mercy. And you know what, you're going to give it to them. You'll pardon them. Because you're the strongest person I know.

"But I'm not that strong, Lucy. So I'm going to beat each and every one of them to a bloody pulp before I bring them to you and after you forgive them––"

"Natsu––"

"––and I'm going to enjoy it. They won't ever lay a finger on Fairy Tail – on _you – _again," at this point, Lucy was hanging on his every word. The tears flowing freely from her eyes. Natsu had gotten up, walking from his chair over to sit on her bed side. He had turned her face towards him, and she was caught in the raw, primal emotions running through his obsidian gaze.

"Yes," he grounded out, eyes flashing over her face, neck and arms to take in all the damage caused by his new nemesis, "they will never be able to touch you again when I'm through with them. They won't even be able to look you in the eye. You're so much higher than them, Lucy. So much _stronger_. I _will _show them just how strong you make me – how strong you make Fairy Tail. I'll be back with a win. So you just sleep until I have good news," his smile was back, and that was when she had wondered how exactly someone like him, someone so utterly, so completely, so altogether, so absolutely, so exactly, so wholly, so totally, so _perfectly simple_ could make all her fears wash away with a single sentence.

"Because I definitely will." and she didn't doubt him. Not for a second. It was, she found, extremely hard to doubt someone with such a simple conviction.

She loved him all the more for it.

"Ne, Natsu?" he stopped by the door, hand on the knob, "You're wrong, ya know." at this, he turned around, eyes exasperated and livid with her outright refusal to his claims. He wasn't ready for the smile on her face, or the spark in her eyes.

"_You _are most definitely the strongest person I know––"

"Lucy––"

"––simply the strongest. After all, it was you who made me strong, right?" At this he smiled, complaints vanishing from his mind. If he made her strong, then it was exactly the opposite for him. She made him strong. All the tears, all the heartache she went through; it reminded him that he was still human and that there were other people in the world that could feel what he himself had been through.

No one hit that point home like Lucy did.

"I'm still going to kick all their asses." Of course, that didn't change anything. He was still going to wipe them out.

He walked out the door with her laughter ringing in his ears and her bruised face in an ear splitting grin, "You're such a simple person, Natsu!"

"Don't I know it," he whispered back as his feet brought him to the arena, "I _am _the one who has to think about you all the time because of it."

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****"People who pride themselves on their "complexity" and deride others for being "simplistic" should realize that the truth is often not very complicated. What gets complex is evading the truth." ―Thomas Sowell, _Barbarians inside the Gates and Other Controversial Essays_

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** And my general consensus for this chapter: HARD TO WRITE! I had now freaking clue how to write this one, so I went a bit OOC and such. I'm not pleased. If you are, I'd like to hear some reassurance from you readers about what you thought of it.**

** I'll try to update faster. Ya'know, if I can pull myself away from _The Vampire Diaries _and _Fairy Tail _long enough to get some inspiration. I am SUPER obsessed with VD and I am _not _a vampire kind of girl. Though, I must admit, the author has some nice plot twists coming into play.**

** I'll see you next time, peeps! **

** Oh, yeah, extra little tid-bit that I couldn't help but throw in: OMAKE!**

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Elfman grinned from the hospital bed across from Lucy's. He had heard every single word that had transpired between the two. Oh, how his sister would love to hear all of this. That, and he finally had something to black mail Natsu with.

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** Yeah, I know, short, right? But I had to! After all, Elfman was literally _right there _the entire time this is happening; and we all know that Mira has eyes everywhere. **

** I've got a new story idea as well, if any one's interested, I'm going to post a bit after this and if you want to know a bit more and help with the plot line or add in a character, I'd be more than happy to oblige. Here it is:**

_**A Queen's Duty **_

She is her father's daughter. Always had been, always would be. So when her father told her that they're be taking over and crushing Fairy Tail to bits on their sacred island of Tenroujima, she felt no sympathy for the foolish Fairies.

She was a Queen, and all Queens had a duty to their lands and people.

"You know what you have to do, right, Queen?"

Of course she did, she'd trained for this all her life, ever since Jose-otou-sama had found her in the desolate waste land of a city.

She was the epitome of darkness, the ambassador of evil, the Mistress of the Kin, and the Queen of Grimore Heart.

Her wings were painted black as the magic she used. Magic passed down from her Otou-sama as well as the lost magic she had known since she was young.

She'd Shatter them. Rip off their wings. And then throw them to the demons.

She would never betray Grimore Heart. She would fight for her precious family.

Even though they're left her on the island with all the Fairies for seven years.

**.**

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** A~nd I'm done! I'll try to post again this week to make up for all my tardiness! Please keep reading! And please don't forget to review!**

** YO! REDWRITER17! This chapter is for you! Oh, and I won't be giving away my previous oneshot anymore. Thanks for the late inspiration!**


	13. NaLu Oneshot 3 Jealousy

**I'm terribly late again...sorry guys! I had plenty of inspiration for this chapter, but life got in the way and then whenever I had some extra time to write, I had absolutely NO motivation what-so-ever. It's horrible to have a lazy muse, but at least I have one, right?**

** So, on to the third oneshot: Jealousy.**

**I tried to make this as un-cliché as possible.**

** ….I don't know if I succeeded.**

**I don't own Fairy Tail; don't as in do not, will not, and have not.**

**Green-eyed:**

**Just one way to explain the feeling of jealousy in a color of envy and an action (or adjective) that frequently accompanies it, thank you Shakespeare.**

**~MM~**

"_Welcome to the wonderful world of jealousy, he thought. For the price of admission, you get a splitting headache, a nearly irresistable urge to commit murder, and an inferiority complex. Yippee."_**  
****― **J.R. Ward,_ Dark Lover___

**~MM~**

Natsu hated the cold. He really despised it. Because, despite the popular faith in his heater-like magic, that was not the case. If anything his magic simply made him more in-tune to the temperatures around him.

That wasn't to say that Natsu couldn't deal with cold though, oh, he dealt with cold alright. He had to deal with the winters in Magnolia, he had to deal with missions up north and missions in the mountains – Mount Hakabe being one of his most recent missions of this kind, having turned down many of the other frigid-weather requests he'd gotten since.

Yes, Natsu dealt with many kinds of cold and they all held a different rank of dislike in his mind. The higher the number, the more tolerable, his highest ranked cold would probably be the winters of Magnolia. Those winters he adored. There was New Year's Eve, Christmas, Thanksgiving, and all other sorts of happy festivities that he thoroughly enjoyed with his guild mates and citizens of his beloved town.

One of the lowest ranked – meaning one of the kinds he hated most – was his friend-slash-rival's magic. He couldn't hate it completely, seeing that Gray was his nakama who had stood next to him on the same ground for many of the battles that Natsu had been in. He had felt Gray's magic more than once in their in-guild brawls and knew just _how cold _the ice-make mage's magic was.

Though, there was one kind of arctic climate that Natsu couldn't stand at all, in fact, he was finding now, it might be the bane of his existence – whatever it was that meant, anyway (Lucy tended to mumble things under her breath that she thought he couldn't hear).

"Natsu, what'd you do to make Lucy so mad? I've never seen he behave in this way before, I must say, it's slightly disconcerting."

"I don't know _what _I did, Erza. All I know is that somehow I made Lucy angry. Angry Lucy is a Lucy who I don't want to have to deal with. She can be as scary as _you _sometimes."

Yup. He'd done something she didn't like somehow in some way. He knew that much from just watching her, and he didn't need to be within her personal space to know that there was a frosty smile on her face that was making even _Gray _shudder as she helped him limp along with his leg injury. She had that glacial air around her that drove him _insane _because he couldn't figure out what is was that he had done and how he could fix it. Apologizing in general for all his unknown mistakes wasn't going to be enough this time, so he had to figure it out, or she'd never come around to his side again.

Because, at that time as he and his team walked back to the guild, the train tracks behind them destroyed from their most recent battle, Lucy carried the most loathed cold Natsu knew of.

Lucy was _ignoring _him. Giving him the _cold shoulder._

And he didn't mean the normal "I'm busy, so I'm going to ignore you until you go away" kind of inattention either. This was the "you're dead to me and I'm not speaking to you until you apologize for what you did" kind of inattention.

"Geez, Lucy, slow down, would you?" Natsu's mood lowered even further as he watched Lucy pull Gray's arm farther across her shoulders and her hand tighten against his side. Why wasn't she helping _him _like that? He was injured to – even worse than that stripper! – but Lucy had taken one look at him after the fight and left him there for Erza to pick up while she went off to give her focus to Gray.

"I-I mean, would you please slow down a bit, Lucy? It's hard to keep up with you in this condition," Lucy's glare had Natsu dissolving in a fit of self-satisfied snickers at Gray's expense. He quickly swallowed his amusement when her glare rounded on him as her pace slowed. Well, he thought, at least she didn't have to hold on to Gray any tighter than she was now that she had slowed down.

Almost as if she had heard him, Lucy's arm moved to encircle Gray's torso, bringing his body even closer to her shorter-statured one.

Between the burning rage and motivation to torch Gray to death, Natsu felt the rising jealousy at the way the two seemed perfectly in sync – even their skin and hair tones complimented each other! Not to mention that their heights were perfect too, even with Gray slouching over Lucy – and _where _did Gray think _he was looking_?! Now Natsu was practically – literally – simmering with rage. To the the point where Erza dropped him, shaking her hands in the air to cool them down.

"Natsu! What's gotten into you? Get a grip on yourself! It's not like you to lose control of your powers like this!" He was too focused on Gray's darkening facial pigment to even begin to feel contrite by any extent. Taking Erza's offered hand, he pulled himself from the ground, catching what he swore saw a _smirk, _a _smile, on her lips at his reaction_. Oh, so _that's _how she wanted to play, huh? Alright then, he would play her way then and still beat her at her own game.

He tripped over a pebble in front of him, nearly throwing himself at Erza to the point where she had to wrap both of her arms around him to keep them both from falling over. He made sure to shoot a smile in Lucy's direction as he fell, watching her triumphant expression drop and turn away from him to smile kindly in Gray's direction before bouncing slightly to make sure she had a grip on Gray. Or, so any other bystander that didn't understand their non-verbal battle would think, but Natsu wasn't some bystander, and he knew _exactly _what Lucy was doing. It made him all the more envious – jealous, he'd admit – of Gray.

He couldn't stand the face of his rival as Gray tried his best to look away from Lucy. Natsu barely listened to the earful Erza was giving him about taking better care of himself (it was true, it had only been Gray and himself that were hurt in this mission), instead he scanned the ground for his saving grace that had already helped him once that day. It took all of three sentences to find it. So while Lucy laughed at Gray and with Gray, while Erza talked his ear off about taking better care of himself, while Gray tried his best to _remember that he had a girlfriend_, Natsu aimed, wound up, and kicked the rock with all his might right into the back of Gray's head.

Just for good measure, Natsu made sure to give Gray a warning glare that was fully received by the person walking a good four feet in front of him, because damnit, _Gray had a girlfriend and Natsu had dibs on Lucy._

Now if only he could figure out what he had done wrong so he could stop feeling so jealous about his in-a-relationship rival (Gray _was _in a relationship, Natsu had to keep reminding himself, in a relationship with someone that _wasn't _Lucy).

**~MM~**

She still wasn't talking to him. Wasn't even looking at him. This was bad. He needed help; _female _help. Last time he asked the guys in the guild he got varied answers for what to do. Some that he didn't care to repeat (those perverted geezers, shouldn't they retire already?).

Though, he thought sullenly to himself, they'd only been back to the guild for a few hours now; if this was how he acted without Lucy's attention for less then a day, then he was terrified to find out what it would be like if Lucy never ended up with him. Yeah, now _that'd _be a nightmare.

"Natsu-san, it's your turn in the infirmary now," Natsu glanced wearily up to Wendy who hovered above him with a pack of bandages and a calm smile that smoothed down some of his ruffled feathers. It was probably a good thing that they didn't take Wendy with them this time around, Natsu mused. If they had, then if was probable that Wendy would be just as awkward around him as Erza was now because of their torn loyalty between their guild and one of their good female friends (who also happened to be a guild member).

"Ah, sure, I'm coming," He climbed out of his chair with a wince, making Wendy flutter around him worriedly. It was something of an enigma how Wendy was able to be a healer when she always seemed like she was going to faint at the sight of twisted joints or streaks of blood running down her patient's person.

"Oh, Wendy, what took the ice prince so long? Normally you have us healed up in a few minutes," Wendy looked up at him with a shy smile, a pink dusting falling over her cheeks. He always found that quality endearing about his little sister-like figure. Now, he'd just have to make sure that Romeo realized it as well, otherwise there were going to be some issues within the guild.

"_Ano_, well, L-Lucy-san wanted to t-try her hand at healing...s-so I let her use Gray as a patient?" It came out more as a question than a statement, except that it had none of the implications of one. He knew for a fact that Wendy wasn't questioning whether she knew that Lucy had used Gray as a test subject for her medical experimentation. It didn't make the green-eyed monster he normally kept under wraps any less furious though.

"I see. Well, let's get this over with, shall we, Wendy?" He _really_ needed to get this whole jealousy thing under his control. Therefore, he decided, as he locked his inner dragon in a box deep (deep, _deep_)inside himself, that he wouldn't let Lucy's antics get to him anymore. He'd show her that it didn't matter what she did or what antics she pulled, he was just going to be her clueless, dense best friend and partner who was always there for her when needed.

His decision, he firmly told himself, had absolutely _nothing _to do with the fact that she was using _Gray _as a test patient instead of him. It had _nothing_ to do with the fact that he _still _had absolutely no idea what he'd done wrong, or how to fix it.

Yeah, it had absolutely _nothing _to do with any of those things – that is, if nothing counted as _everything_.

**~MM~**

"There, Natsu-san. I'm finished healing you now. You're free to go as long as there isn't too much strenous activity in your near future–– Natsu-san! Please listen until I'm done talking!" Wendy called after the dragonslayer as he sped from the infirmary. He had been fidgeting the entire time while she healed his sprained and torn muscles (they were the usual for him and many of the others). The Sky Maiden thought that his quick exit had something to do with the lingering smell of vanilla and sage, but wasn't entirely certain. Nastu had been acting strangely since his team got back from their last job.

She sighed and started to pack up her stuff, putting away gauze and tapes amongst other healing supplies. She'd have to ask Lucy-san about what was troubling Natsu-san, after all, no one knew the fire mage quite like his partner did.

"Ah-ha! Wendy! Just the person I was looking for! You wouldn't have any books on healing herbs and poultices, would you? I need to brush up on a few things for my next mission," Wendy came out of her worried musings with a bruised lip and a pleasant surprise; if Lucy knew everything there was to know about Natsu, then the blue-haired bookworm entering the infirmary knew everything there was to know about Lucy.

"O-oh! Y-yes, here, Levy-san!" She had to dig a little, but her her most basic books on the healing arts weren't that far away, "Say, Levy-san?"

Levy looked up to meet her eyes over the stack of books in her arms, "Yes?"

"H-have you noticed anything..._strange _about Lucy recently?" That gave Levy pause.

"Now that you mention it, it has seemed like she's been trying to avoid Natsu at all costs...though, I know she's not mad a him," Well, that blew Wendy's guess right out of the water. If Lucy wasn't mad at Natsu, then what was going on? "Why do you think that Lucy's been training so hard recently? She's been training her magic and her medical knowledge as much as she can. She's even come to me for some pointers that she didn't know about on her magic. Fact is, Natsu's not the only one feeling a little green-eyed; Lucy is too." Ah-ha, now _that _made a little more sense.

"So you're saying that Lucy-san's jealous?!"

"A jealous as any girl falling hard for her best friend can be! She's been trying to figure out of way to tell Natsu, but she hasn't figured anything out yet," this did make a whole lot more sense, now that Wendy thought about it. She should probably tell Natsu-san, if she didn't want to be patching up the entire guild sooner that later.

"I should go tell Natsu-san! I know he feels the same way about Lucy-san!" Levy dropped her newest texts in favor of catching Wendy by the shoulder.

"No! You can't, it's absolutely not allowed! We have to let them figure this out on their own, it'll be better for their relationship if they're able to overcome this together, ya'know? Besides, Lu-chan is really stressed out lately with this new 'in-love' status of her's, so she's being kinda sharp with people, it's definitely best to leave them alone right now!" If Levy's tone of voice didn't scare her, then the look on her face certainly did: it looked as if Levy had seen a ghost, or some other form of demonic creature.

Then again, that might not be that far from the truth.

"Levy-san?"

"Yes?"

"Did Mirajane-san tell you not to interfere with their love life again?" Levy's borrowed books hit the floor once more, "She's loving their drama isn't she?" Wendy could only wring her hands worriedly as Levy picked up her books for the second time in less than ten minutes.

"Pretty much. Last I heard, she was selling their little soap opera to the Sorcerer Magazine."

Well, now Wendy didn't have to wonder where all the repair money for the guild kept coming from.

**~MM~**

"I'm off then!" Lucy could only stare as her partner scrambled out the door, not even throwing a glance her way before the heavy wooden door slammed behind him with a sullen thud (or so that's the emotion she got from it).

"That idiot, he's gonna hurt himself sooner or later, ya'know. He took one of those big-reward jobs again, doesn't he understand that those are the most dangerous?" Lucy couldn't help the irritated tick that formed above her eye. Natsu had been going on all his missions with Lisanna, or Erza, or Gray, or Erza and Gray, but never her. He was relying on them much more than he was on her.

That hurt more than anything else he could have done. Not to mention, it stirred up her feelings of abandonment she'd been dealing with since before coming to the guild. He knew that. Now, if only _she _knew what he was thinking.

"Calm down, Lisanna, Natsu's been through worse. Besides, he'll be fine; there's no way that he could leave us like that. He'll always come back, no matter how bad it is. He'll never abandon his family and you know that," Though the words weren't meant for her, Lucy still took them to heart. It was almost as if Mira knew exactly what she needed and when she needed it.

Sometimes, Lucy really didn't mind Mira's prodding, match-making ways.

"I know, I know. I just can't believe he'd leave his _girlfriend _here without saying a word! Honestly, with the way he's been acting lately, I can hardly believe that he can call himself a proper partner, let alone a _romantic _partner."

Girlfriend? Natsu had a girlfriend? Maybe he had realized her own feelings for him before she had herself. Now she was in trouble, she was only burdening Natsu with her own feelings. This was completely unacceptable. She couldn't do that to him! He was already too inexperienced when it came to love anyway!

She had to give up on him, it was the only way to resolve all this. That way, she could keep her friendship with him, and he could be happy with Lis–– his girlfriend.

The blond celestial mage stood up quickly, grabbing her things and nestling a few new books on Spirit Magic and the healing arts in her bag. She'd get over him, she decided right there and then, she'd get over him right then and there.

Even if only it was to preserve her friendship. Even if only to keep up a cheerful persona. Even if only to be close to him again. Even if only to stop the tearing in her stiched-up heart. Even if only to drive away the headache the murderous thoughts that crept into her mind gave her. She was sick of feeling jealous of one of the guildme–– of one of her _family members_. She'd be happy for Lisanna and Natsu (she could finally admit that it was Lisanna, after resolving to let go of Natsu), even if all it did was tear her heart wide open again for every green-eyed monster known to mankind to crawl into and make it their nest.

She wouldn't let this get away from her anymore, this jealousy. So she locked it deep (deep, _deep_) withing herself in an airtight little box, where she hoped the feeling would suffocate in the most horrible way possible.

Lucy walked out of the guild that day with a heart full of sullen resolve and petty resentment (Natsu was never her's to begin with, so it should hurt _this _much, should it?). She never did end up hearing the rest of the Strauss sibling's conversation:

"_Now Lisanna, you know that they aren't dating yet, right?"_

"_Well, it's about time that they did. I told Lucy never to get to far away from him, to always stay by his side, because with her, he's at his best, his strongest. I just wish she'd hurry up and realize that before her behavior scares him off."_

"_Oh, Lisanna, I don't think that'll ever happen."_

"_Why's that, Mira-nee?"_

"_Because, I have a feeling that Natsu's dragon has green eyes set completely on blond hair and brown eyes. He can't see anyone else but her, and I don't think he ever will."_

**~MM~**

By the time a week had past with Fairy Tail's most infamous non-couple not speaking to each other or throwing glances towards the other's person, the entire guild was on edge. The atmosphere around the two was astounding (while Gajeel called it 'sexual tension', Levy disagreed and called it denial – Mira put a stop to their bickering by pointing out that there wasn't that much of a difference).

Even when they did speak to one another, it was increasingly awkward with every conversation. All the emotions simmering under the surface justified to red ears, cherry-hued cheeks, and stuttering, one word questions with amazingly short answers. They seemed more like strangers than extremely close friends.

If would have been funny to watch, a source of entertainment and jokes, if it wasn't so frustratingly aggravating.

It wasn't hard to tell that it was getting to the main characters themselves because right now was one of the times when they were speaking to each other – sort of. If you called a word by each party a 'conversation'.

"Hey."

"Hello." They were waiting for Mira to come back from the storage room so that they could each register for the mission requests in their hands. Natsu had taken another destructive, 'monster needed dead of alive' mission. It was the last of it's kind that'd been on the board at the time and Natsu knew that if he didn't have an excuse to be out of the guild for a while before the next wave of monster-related quest poured in, he'd have to be around an angry Lucy.

He _still _couldn't figure out for the life of him what he'd done so wrong that she'd be mad at him for this long. It'd been nearly eight days since their last mission together and Lucy seemed to be more and more haggard with each passing day. And irritable. He couldn't forget the cranky-ness that came with a sleep-depraved Lucy who was also angry for more than a week straight. Where she got the energy to be angry, tired, annoyed and keep going on missions was beyond even his understanding.

He'd never know that right next to him – give or take a few yards away – Lucy was having very similar thoughts.

She was holding another mission geared towards medicinal practices as well as rebuilding. Evidently, a town had been destroyed in a recent monster-exterminating request and they had to enlist help to rebuild and help those who had withstanding diseases from the disease-spreading creature heal.

See? Even while they were avoiding each other, she still had to clean up after him! Not to mention, her mission was only a town or two over form where his was taking place. That _totally _helped with the whole 'trying to avoid the object of my affections' plan. She'd just have to get done before him, then. She could do that. Besides, she knew that he'd up wandering the area for a while after his job just to avoid coming back to the guild; because _she'd _be there and he knew it. It's where she always went after missions and she hadn't been avoiding the place just because she was avoiding Natsu and he her.

The aura in and around Fairy Tail actually helped raise her spirits a bit. She'd never loved having a place to call home more than she did now: a place where she was needed and loved by a family that would never forsake her. She couldn't get enough of it. Especially now that she learned – in a quite crushing way, might she add – that the person she trusted most (except for Levy-chan, maybe) was going out with the person that told her to never leave the side of aforementioned boy.

Well, not every family was perfect.

"_Ara_? Lucy? Natsu? Here to sign up for more missions, I suppose. Alright, what will it be this time, you two?" The entire room sighed in relief as Mirajane stepped into view carrying a few stacks of new plates for the bar. Natsu couldn't help but notice the precarious way the plates were stacked.

"Here, Mira-san, let me help you with those," Natsu saw rather than felt Lucy move past him to help Mira out with her load (she made a point of going around him carefully, he noted, normally she wouldn't have minded brushing her arm against his) and he just about grabbed her wrist – his hand twitched to do so – to pull her away from the potentially catastrophic situation, but the glow on her face as she helped Mira cut the pile in half stopped him and had his mind go blank. Did she always look like this when she helped people out before? He hadn't really noticed until now. Then again, he had been taking her cheerfulness for granted, he realized. She was always helping him, after all.

"Thanks, Lucy," Mira sighed, setting down the dishes as if they weighed a ton – they probably did, Natsu reasoned, there were so many of them after all. The stack had been taller than her head when she walked out of storage. Lucy set her's down with little issue. Natsu did a double take; since when was she able to do physical labor better than Mira? She _hated _physical labor, that's why _he _ended up doing most of–– oh, so that was why. Perhaps she had been taking him for granted as well?

The thought gave him a little hope.

"Oh, going to Oshibana*(1), then? Well, at least it's not the far. Be careful, Lucy. A few of the creature's kind were said to still be hanging around in Kunugi*(2) last I heard, it's only a few miles away, so make sure to keep on your guard, we don't want you to get hurt while healing the sick," Natsu with-held the need to snort; as if he's let those magic-sucking parasites get anywhere _near _Lucy.

"Um-hm, I know, Mira-san; I can take care of myself. Besides, Natsu's going to Kunugi at the same time I'm going to Oshibana, so there shouldn't be any trouble," That was exactly what he was thinking! No one understood him quite like Lucy did – does. There was only her. That much he was sure.

Damnit. She was getting to him again.

"Is that right? Well, that's probably a good thing. No one here will have to be as worried anymore."

It took him a few minutes to realize that Mira was answering his unspoken thoughts as well as Lucy's statement.

**~MM~**

"Hold on a minute, you bastard! You aren't getting away from me that easily!" He'd already been fighting the weird plant-like creature for thirty minutes now. That was a complete twenty minutes longer than it took him the first time he fought with the stupid species.

It didn't help that it kept trying to get around him to go in the direction of Oshibana. Or that the citizens of Kunugi thought it would be a good idea to try and assist the famous Salamander of Fairy Tail in his heroic endeavor of weeding.

Another teenager, this one no more than fourteen, if he had to guess, popped in his way for the umpteenth time in the past thirty minutes. Cursing and stumbling, Natsu picked up his speed to grab the kid and drop him none to gently to the threshold of a nearby home – which also had citizen peering out its windows to watch him work. The over-grown dandelion just _had _to be in the middle of town, now didn't it?

"Salamander-san! The creature is going outside of the town boarders and heading towards Oshibana in the north!" A growl ripped its way out of Natsu's throat in aggravation. If it wasn't enough that the faux flowers ate magical energy when they captured you, but they just _had _to have a thing for celestial magic, didn't they?

"Yeah, I see that. Now _you_; stay. Here. Tell that to the rest of the people in town. I don't want any more interference and I don't want to be responsible for someone getting hurt, got it?" Natsu was satisfied when the boy nodded vigorously at his heated tone (he _really _didn't have the patience to deal with these people, that was always Lucy's job since she was better with people than him).

"All right then. Happy, let's go! We can't let it get to Oshibana or Lucy!"

"Aye sir!" With a flick of Happy's Aera magic, the two were off, heading for Lucy and the town she was helping out."

They got there in a matter of minutes, surprised to see that the people of Oshibana evacuated to now-standing buildings and the farther reaches of town while Lucy, Loke and Virgo held off the plant creature. Was it just him, or had the thing gotten bigger and a whole lot uglier?

"Oi! You overgrown bush! You're opponent it me!" Dropping from the sky, Natsu watched as Loke faltered the slightest bit in surprise. The greenery managed to swipe at him with a thorn covered vine – did it just get bigger again?!

"What the – why does it keep getting bigger?!" He stood up straight from the brick-laid road. Loke jumped back to meet him, sporting a new gash across his upper arm.

"_We _should be asking _you _that question, Natsu! If my understanding of how this mission was supposed to carry out, then this thing was supposed to be seven miles south in Kunugi – fighting _you_!" The lion spirit's glare only served to excel the frustration growing inside of his stomach. When Lucy came to stand next to her strongest magical partner, wearing an identical kind of gaze, it only made it ten times worse.

"Tell that to the Kunugi citizens! They wouldn't let me do the job and insisted on 'helping' me do my job!" Was he really angry at Lucy, or just that fact that she was agreeing with someone other than himself for the first time they'd talked in one-hundred and ninety-two hours?

"At least they were trying to kill the thing, Natsu! Seems like more than what you were doing!"

"What do you mean 'more than what I was doing'?! I was doing plenty! Keeping innocents out of the way wasn't really in the job description, ya'know. Besides, _you're _the one that's making that thing grow bigger! It grows off of magical energy – especially celestial magic, so every time it hits you or one of your spirits, it gets bigger and everything I did to it disappears!" Grabbing Lucy around the waist, he jumped out of the way of one of the vines came smashing down where they were just seconds before.

Having her next to him like this again felt amazing, he thought distractedly and had to fight of the urge to pull her to his chest as she pulled away from his grip around her middle.

"So now you're saying it's _my _fault this is all happening?! Fine then, I'll finish this on my own seeing to as it's _my _responsibility now!" Before he could stop her she was off and running towards the wannabe-flower. Another attack towards her person had him awake and moving to cover her back like he'd do in any other fight.

"I never said that and you know it!" Flaming punch here, jet of fire there, and the thing just kept coming, Lucy wasn't doing much better with the modified spells she learned from her books, he realized. Right before casting another spell, Natsu was aware of the decrease of her magic around him. The air that had before hummed with her frenzied emotions and charged energy before so fast that it had him whipping around, her name on his tongue.

Her gasping for breath nearly three meters from him with a dangerously pale complexion had the words dying in his mouth as he rushed to her side.

"Lucy! What's wrong?" He covered her as best he could from all the incoming attacks as she collected herself and regained some much needed air.

"That thing ran Virgo and Loke through and took all their energy from them and then took most of my energy from the link I have with them. I don't think I can cast any more spells and I definitely can't summon another spirit unless I want to die or go into a coma," She wiped her hands across her forehead in an attempt to rid herself of the cold sweat running down her face. A shaky hand grabbed Fleuve d'étoiles and a determined grimace came upon her face.

She was off and running towards the weed-monster before her words even registered completely in Natsu's mind.

"Lucy! Come back! I can take care of this!" He took off after her without a second thought and as her ran behind her, the sight of an incoming side attack made him push off the ground and bowl into her. Standing up relatively quickly, Natsu looked down to see that the impact had knocked out the already semi-conscious Lucy.

It's probably better this way, he thought wry to himself. He didn't notice that the attack he had seen before had changed direction and came to hit him in the back, throwing him over Lucy and into a nearby already-demolished pile of rubble.

"Ok, now you're starting to tick me off," He jumped from the pile of timber and shingles without a second thought before bringing down a fiery foot down on the head (or what he _thought _the head was) with a furious call of "_Karyū no Kagitsume_!"

He rebounded as the monster collapsed into a crater his attack left. Letting out a sigh, Natsu went over and picked Lucy up, slinging her arms around his shoulders to keep her in place while Happy appeared once more and hovered around his head worriedly.

"Nastu, is Lushi ok?" A small grin from his partner put the cat as ease as Happy led the way out of town to the South. Natsu almost felt a little guilty that his friend knew the drill so well after destructive missions. Though he quickly followed after the blue exceed when the residents from town started to crowd around the dead monster's body.

All that was left by the time the citizens started to realize he was gone was a dust cloud in the distance and a faint set of footprints heading for their home.

**~MM~**

When Lucy woke up, she was still being carried by Natsu. Judging by the way their pace was slightly hurried and Natsu had a jittery air about him, Lucy figured he hadn't stayed around Oshibana to collect the reward money or recover a bit before walking home.

That's when she realized the sun was setting. How much time had passed since the battle? It had only been around two or three when the whole fiasco started and if the sun was setting that would make it near five or six. Had he really been carrying her for over three hours? Wow, passing out during a battle, nice going, Lucy, her mind echoed to her in an unpleasant and sarcastic manner.

Her mind was right though, she though, it was pretty pathetic. Natsu barely came out with a scratch on him and here she was: being carried like some kind of invalid. She really _was _a burden to him.

"S-sorry, Natsu. I didn't mean to pass out like that back there, I'm fine now, so you should probably put me down before we get to Magnolia," His face turned slightly to look at her form the corner of his eye, relief and a touch of confusion in the obsidian depths.

"Nah, it's fine Luce, I don't mind carrying you, and I should have warned you that the weed ate magic earlier," She was surprised to hear him so calm after the recent battle and the fact that he was going to end up piggybacking her all the way to the guild and he'd be carrying her in front of his girlfriend. The thought still left a bitter taste in its wake and Lucy's self-loathing grew as she realized that she was just going to burden him more by doing this. Besides, he more than likely thought nothing of carrying a _nakama _back home when they were exhausted, even if it was a girl who happened to be his partner in more than one way according to the rumors flying around.

"I'll just be a burden if we come back with you carrying me, right? I don't want to get in the way of you and Lisanna's relationship," Natsu paused at this, stopping in the middle of a step and making Lucy bump her nose into the junction of his shoulder and his neck.

"Who told you that, Lucy? There's nothing going on between me and Lisanna, and I couldn't ever think of you as being a burden. You're family, _nakama_, I'd never think of you like that," this time it was her who was confused, she didn't get to voice her complaints though as Nastu continued to speak, "If anything, it's you and Gray who have something going on. I mean, you help _him _back to the guild when he's injured but not your part–– but not me? And you practice your healing on _Gray _rather than me? It seems a little suspicious to me." Before she knew it, Lucy had buried her head into Natsu's shoulder, shaking it in a 'no' gesture over and over again.

"There's absolutely nothing between Gray and I, I just didn't know how to...um...to tell you that...uh...how do I put this? Natsu, I've never seen you as my family, you've always been something more to me than that. I don't know how to explain it better, but Gray is more like my older brother than anything else, and I thought I had those kind of feeling for you once, but then you'd do something so..._Natsu-like _that it turned those fragile feelings upside down again. Wha-what I'm t-trying to say here, Natsu is that I––" Before she could comprehend what was happening, Natsu had set her on her feet, still holding her up by her upper arms and looked her dead in the eye.

"There's nothing between you and Gray?" She could only shake her head, not blinking in the face of his intense stare. She smiled softly when he groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder. He inhaled her scent, a semi-sweet vanilla mixed with a stronger smelling bitter sage.

"Geez, Luce, couldn't you have told me sooner?"

"Are you going to let me finish my confe–– uh, statement from before, Nastu?" She blushed and felt him smile against her bare shoulder.

"There's no need. I know what you're going to say and I feel the exact same way. But really, you have _no _idea how _jealous _I was of Gray for the past week." She wrapped her arms around him and smiled sarcastically over his shoulder.

"Trust me, I think I can guess. _You _have no idea how jealous I was when I thought you and Lisanna were going out. I'll still probably get jealous over you spending more time with Lisa–– er, _other girls_ than you do with me, so just, don't forget that I'm here, ok?" He chuckled softly, lifting his head from her should to smile that boy-ish smile of his that made her stomach do flip-flops.

"I'm pretty sure that I couldn't forget about you if I tried, Luce," She frowned pulling away from him and his playful smile.

"Natsu, that sounded suspiciously like an insult."

"Really? I meant it as a compliment though." Somehow, she couldn't completely believe him when he had that look in his eyes.

"You're absolutely certain that was a compliment? You're not calling me loud or ugly are you?"

"Ugly? Never. Loud...well...your yelling isn't exactly quiet. I actually heard it once halfway across Magnolia when you shouted at me for something or another."

"So it _was _an insult! Take it back!" She slapped him across the shoulder with a sulky frown still on her face.

"Ouch! Luce! Don't be so mean!"

"You li~ike each other!"

"Shut _up_, Happy!"

"Come'on, Lucy, it's true, isn't it?"

"Natsu! Don't encourage him!"

No told him that loving Lucy was going to be easy, and he didn't except it to be. He expected there to be _plenty _of bumps along the way, but there wasn't anything that he couldn't jump over with her on his back, laughing the entire time.

He expected there to be cold times during their relationship, but, he found, as they walked back to the guild, that he could put up with the cold, he could more than tolerate that kind of cold, because loving Lucy was full of different kinds of weather, and he knew that there'd be more warm times of laughter and love than there'd ever be with tears and jealousy.

He didn't even mind the jealousy, now that he knew she felt the same as he did for her, because that particular emotion, when it came to Lucy, was an enigma: it burned in the deepest part of himself with a raging inferno, but at the same time, it froze his heart to anyone but Lucy, and while freezing his heart scared him just a little, if Lucy was there to thaw it out, he was sure it'd be fine.

He could deal with anything she threw at him––

"Hey, Natsu, look! There's a train station! Let's take the train the rest of the way back to Magnolia!"

––transportation being the only exception.

**~MM~**

***(1)(2): I found these towns on the Fairy Tail wiki. They were towns near Magnolia and they hadn't seemed to be mentioned much, so I used them. It's amazing what you can do with a little bit of research.**

**Ok, hopefully that wasn't too cliché. I re~e~eally hope it wasn't.**

**And I know you guys are probably sick of my saying this, but it needs to be done: I'M SO ****SORRY FOR BEING SO LATE!**

**I won't promise when the next chapter will be out for that reason, but you people need to decide what couple you want to be next out of the following (majority rules):**

**Fried and Mirajane**

**Gajeel and Levy**

**Jellal and Erza**

**Elfman and Evergreen**

**Romeo and Wendy**

**Gray and Juvia**

**I'll leave that up to you guys. Now I'm going to bed, ok? Only two more one-shots in the NaLu portion, hopefully you'll stay after that as well for the rest of them!**

**And be waiting for my next NaLu stand-alone (aka not one of this series) called "Home"; it's based of the song by Philip Philips (go figure) but it's not a song-fic.**

**Preview:**

"Master, it's been over five months now and Natsu still hasn't said '_tadaima' _once, doesn't that bother you?" A young Erza gazed over at Makarov, who sat quietly on the bar, watching over his beloved children. He turned to smile kindly in her direction.

"He may be here right now Erza, but his heart isn't, and if his heart isn't here, then he'll never once say 'I'm home' like the rest of you do. Give the boy some time, he'll come around when he learns what he's been given, but don't force him, it's something he has to learn on his own."

~MM~

"Stupid Ji-chan, telling me to go 'cool my head' or whatever. It's not like I burned anything down this time, I only gave that stripper what he deserved–– oof! Oi, watch where you're going!" Natsu looked up, a glower on his rounded face. The anger in his eyes dissipated on contact with the innocence shining through the warm brown depths before him, "Aa...never mind, that was my bad. My name's Natsu Dragneel. Who're you? I've never seen you around before."

"Ah, my name's Lucy...Lucy Heartfilia. This is my first time here, Mama convinced Papa to let us come here this year because she says this'll be the last time she gets to come see Magnolia's Moon Blaze flower bloom on New Year's," She smiled, picking herself up with the help of Natsu's outstretched hand. He watched her eyes brighten considerable (he hadn't thought it was possible) at this sight of his guild mark, "You're a Fairy Tail mage?! Lucky! I wish I could be, I bet that place is the best home in the world with the biggest family. It is, isn't it?"

"Home? What do you mean? To me their all just a bunch of strangers trying to butt in on my business. They're nothing but a bunch of nosy kids and meddling grown-ups." Hey eyes darkened and he found that he didn't like that at all, especially when she followed it up with a rap to his head with her knuckles.

"Don't say something like that! You have the best family in all of Fiore!"

"I _told _you, it's not like that, they––"

"That's it. I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"My New Year's resolution."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"I'm going to show you what you can't see. I'm going to make you see how lucky you are to have such a big, loving family there for you. And I won't be taking no for an answer."

**~MM~**

**So, how does that sound? I've had it in my head for a while.**

**Remember! VOTE AND REVIEW, please! My dear muse thanks you, even though she's incredibly lazy!**


	14. NaLu Oneshot 4 Possessive

**This is late, please don't hate.**

**Here's a post, I still love reviews the most!**

**I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**Beta:** Koki-Dei**, one of my very best friends and probably one of the only people who can put up with me spouting conspiracy theories about everything I see – especially when it comes to Fairy Tail. And probably one of the only people who can put up with my horrible grammar!**

**Lien Vanhern is my own creation (look! Another acronym for 'OC'!), unfortunately. If someone else wants to lock him in their closet, I don't think my other OCs would mind terribly!**

**~MM~**

"I _told _you, I can't come with you on a mission today! I'm..._busy,_" Natsu gave her a look, still standing where he'd been standing for the past ten minutes as they repeated the same conversation over and over again.

"What are you so _'busy' _with that you can't go on a job request with your own partner?" Now here she'd fidget: pulling at the hem of her new shirt (_blouse _she'd called it), wiggling her toes in her new heeled sandals, drumming her fingers against the purse she clutched tightly to her side, and flickering her eyes back and forth from him to the clock, Natsu _knew _what it was she was busy with, but he wanted to hear her say it. She wouldn't say it though, because she knew that he hated it when she said those five words and that he'd lock both of them in her apartment before letting her finish her activities for the night. She wouldn't say it; it didn't feel _right _for her to say it because it felt like she was cheating on her boyfriend (or so he'd heard her say to Levy – dragon-level hearing made it hard not to eavesdrop).

"Fine, _Natsu_. I'm going on a _date_. There, happy now? I said it. Now move! I'm going to be late!" Natsu narrowed his eyes from the door frame, growling slightly before heaving a sigh. After making sure his feet were firmly planted on the ground (and that his reflexes were up to snuff), Natsu let her know just how _happy _he was.

"No, actually. I'm annoyed," seeing the look on her face, he threw up his hands in defense, "you're _always _going on dates now-a-days! You hardly ever come with Happy and me on missions!" This part of the argument was new, Natsu noted as he dodged around her Lucy Kick. Those shoes of hers, now that he got a better look at them, looked pretty wicked to be pointing them at anyone, let alone throwing kicks at her best friend.

"Natsu, _move_. I'm going whether you like it or not!" He watched her huff angrily running an agitated hand through her perfect hair. _Would her date get to see this side of Lucy too? _Oh, absolutely not. That was not acceptable on any levels. This part of Lucy was _his _and _only his_. No one else got to see her angry like this. That was for him and _only _for him to see.

Lucy tried to shove past him again, this time going for the wider gap he left after dodging towards the doorjamb from her earlier attack. He grabbed her wrist with practiced ease (they had been doing this _a lot _as of late) and held her in place, not letting go even when she turned to face him outside her apartment.

"But _why _are you going? Happy and I–" _mostly me _"**– **miss you when you're not there!" _Ok, maybe that sounded worse than what it sounded in his head, _"No! I mean, it's weird without your _weirdness _being there, so you have to come, ya'know? It's..._normal _**– **or is it weird? – without your weirdness there!" Her eyes got that nasty glint in them that they did when she was especially angry. What had he said _this _time? Didn't he just compliment her?!

"Well then, maybe I feel like spreading my _evidently overwhelmingly pleasurable oddness _to other people. Now, _let go_, Natsu. I'm already ten minutes late as it is!" She was going to go and let someone else get to know her? Know that side of her that only _he _knows? Oh, _hell _no.

"No. You're coming on a job with Happy and me," The whiplash her neck had would have had him hysterical any other day during any other time than this.

"Natsu, you _will _let go of me _right this moment _if you know what's good for you," Her voice was borderline venomous now, but he only tightened his grip on her wrist, letting her know that she wasn't going _anywhere _without his grip loosening first.

"What's so important about meeting this guy anyways? You don't even know him!"

"I don't have to know him, Natsu! That's the point of dating! You get to know the person! You get to show them sides of yourself that you'd never show to anyone else!" Wait, couldn't they have been technically "dating" since the first day they met, then? If they were going by her definition, at least.

"But why today?! Can't you find some other day to get all touchy-feely with a stranger?!" Oh, gross, that sounded so wrong even to _his _ears. If the blood rushing to Lucy's face was any indication, she didn't like the implications either.

_"It's not like that! _Stop acting like a petulant, spoiled, _brat_, Natsu! Let me live my life like I want to!"

What did 'petulant' even mean?!

"I'm not acting 'petu-lent' kid! I'm just saying that you're a mage and you should do mage-y kinds of things and not go out on dates all of the time!"

"I might be a mage right now, Natsu, but what if I don't always want to be one?!" At the sight of glassy eyes and at hearing a raw, struggling throat, Natsu dropped her hand in surprise. What did she mean she didn't always want to be a mage? Was there another way to live than by using their magic to protect their family, their _nakama, _and make a living out of it? Was Lucy really that sick of the life already?She looked startled at herself, even, but that didn't stop her from hefting her bag higher on her shoulder and casting her eyes towards her feet as she turned towards the door.

"I said too much Natsu, sorry. I'll be going now, talk to you later, ok?" Natsu nodded dumbly, still trying to process her earlier words before her most recent ones registered. She was still going to go out on a date, even after everything that had just been said? Then again, he didn't particularly want to be with himself at the moment either.

"Arg...I'm such an idiot!" He hit the wall, sliding down into the deserted hallway, the only thing left of his and Lucy's argument being her open door and the guilty sentiments quickly finding their way to his stomach.

**~MM~**

The next day found Natsu banging his head dejectedly on the bar top in the guild. Lucy hadn't spoken to him all day, even though he'd heard everything about her date between her, Levy, Cana and just about every other female member present at the time in the guild. The he heard it over again, and again and again, when the missing missuses walked in the door. All in all, he was sure he'd heard the story at least ten different agonizing times.

_"He was just her type!" _Meaning, in his book, that he was a boring, book reading, four-eyed bumbling _idiot _who read about magic, knew _all about _magic, but couldn't use any of his own without some kind of help from a magic imbued object.

_"He was the perfect gentlemen; he even took me to the new fancy restaurant down the street!" _Translation: he held her hand the entire time, pulled out her chair and pushed her into the table (without once saying a word about how heavy she was), didn't comment on her bust size, paid for the entire meal, walked her home, and left with only a 'chaste kiss on her cheek' whatever it was 'chaste' meant.

_"He never once asked me for anything!" _No autographs, no fan-services (he beat the _tar _out of that guy), no money, no priceless pieces of information that no other magazines or gossip tabloids had, the list went on.

_"And, the best part, he asked to go steady with me!" _Now, that was a contradiction to her previous statement. That _leech _(he wasn't human at this point, just an annoying annoyance) had asked Lucy to spare more of her precious and well-asked after time for his own selfish motives. How horrible did a person get? Really, asking Lucy to spend all of her time with only one person – that was unthinkable!

_And he'd done the same exact thing yesterday._

Natsu threw his head into the wood again, hoping to kill off the brain cells that harbored the memory of the past twenty-four hours or knock him unconscious for a while so the whole fiasco could just blow over. Mavis, just how bad could he get?! He wasn't her keeper, besides, she'd already made it clear that she didn't want the same life that he did, wouldn't it be better for her to go with someone else who could make her happy without scaring her half to death every time he went out to do his 'job'? Even he didn't know if he'd always come back from a request, and the thought of Lucy sitting at home, waiting for him to come back was too much to bear. Lucy deserved someone who could raise the Heartfilia Konzern back to its former glory, in some way that didn't involve force or brute strength. She deserved someone who wouldn't leave her side because of a split heart between her and their magic. The kind of person she wanted, Natsu knew, had been made clear last night: she didn't want – didn't _need _**– **a person like him to be her life partner. She needed someone who was always going to be there for her. She needed someone who wouldn't run off on a mission and not come back, taking her heart and soul with them on their way out.

Edolas, he sounded so pathetic.

"Ano...could you happen to be Dragneel-_san_?" Natsu looked up, taking in brown hair, hazel eyes, and black frame glasses in stride with the voice in front of him. So _this _was Lucy's new guy, huh? Well, he didn't have much pizazz going for him in the way of looks, but maybe it was his personality that Lucy was enamored with now?

"Who wants to know?"

"Oh, uh, I'm Lucy-_san_'s boyfriend, and I was wondering if you could give me a few tips about her personality, since it's well known that you're the person who knows her best," Nastu's eyes looked over the man – no, _kid _before him. He really didn't seem anything special. In fact, he seemed astonishingly nondescript. Didn't look like he'd worked a day in his life. Scrawny arms, white, non-calloused hands of an aristocrat or wealthy prick, shifting eyes like any kind of political player, and a nervous countenance.

The guy who had asked Lucy for a fan-service had been better than this (at least he'd put up a bit of a fight).

"Just what does she _see _in your people?"

"What was that, Dragneel-_san_?"

"Ah, nothing. What'd you say your name was?"

"I didn't." Oh, so the kid thought he was some hot-shot now just because he kept his name from Natsu? That seemed somewhat petty. Not to mention idiotic.

"Strike one, punk. Two more and you get the thrashing of your life," the mousy faced scholar in front of him paled at the notion of a physical beat down by one of the guild's most notorious members.

"Lien, Dragneel-_san_. Lien Vanhern. Now about my earlier question...would you be willing to help me with Lucy-_san_?" No, he was absolutely _not _ok with helping the punk with winning Lucy over. The only person that got to do that was Natsu – through heroics and idiocies that made her break out laughing until her sides hurt. Through jokes and small, neatly placed hints that'd leave her flabbergasted at the ingeniousness and creative ingenuity that was his mind. He was going to be the only person to win Lucy over (more than he already had). He'd be the only person to see the new faces of her personalities, not some wannabe like this who didn't know and incantation from a curse.

"No. Fight your own battles, buddy. If you can't learn what you need to about her on your own then, well," Natus shrugged picking up a mug sitting next to him and crushing it in a flame-covered grip (knowing full well that Mirajane would have his head for it later), "then you're not even worth the time it took to turn this into a smoking piece of charcoal."

**~MM~**

Natsu regretted his decision days later, after overhearing another one of the girls' conversations. Evidently, Lien and Lucy's relationship was going well. _They were learning _so _much about each other, _according to Lucy.

Maybe, if Natsu had taken Leech's offer to teach him about Lucy in the first place, Natsu could have fed him some false information and the relationship and the horrible feelings bubbling up in his chest could have been put to a screeching halt.

Speaking of the overbearing feeling that'd been filling his emotional capacity for the greater part of the week, Natsu had yet to figure out what exactly it was. Sure, it happened to come up whenever Leech and Lucy were concerned – as a couple, at least – but it had nothing to do with any of his other _nakama_. It was only when Lucy was talked about, talked about with _any other guy _than Natsu. It didn't even have to be Leech, even when he imagined Lucy hanging around with Gray or Gajeel, the lingering emotion seized his heart and he had a nearly irresistible urge to murder the person she was with.

It would be a very slow, very _painful _death, Natsu decided.

The worst part of it was that Natsu felt like the other (less significant guy besides him) had seen something of Lucy that shouldn't have been seen. Not in a "I accidentally saw her in the shower" kind of violation, but in a "that was mine that you just saw. Now you have to die" kind of not-allowed-to-be-seen. No matter how similar it sounded, it was _different_. Now if only he could figure out what it _meant_!

"Hello again, Dragneel-_san,_" the mousy voice had Natsu's head slamming to the table top in surprise. _When the hell did Leech get here and why hadn't he sensed him?_ "I just came by to pick up Lucy-chan for our date and to thank you for the advice you gave me the other day. If I'm not going to put some confidence in myself and get to know Lucy-chan on my own, then I'm just as bad as any of those other guys she's dated." Natsu picked his face up from the table, turning to stare at the plain teen before him. Mavis, how dense _was _this guy? Natsu had all but killed him yesterday and he didn't even bat an eyelash! Even took a threat as _advice_! Now he _really _wanted to pound the glasses Leech's face. Maybe having to get a new pair would help him see death threats more clearly.

But this was a supreme opportunity. Natsu could take back his answer from yesterday and agree to help this _Lien Vanhern _"get to know" Lucy a little bit better. Didn't Lucy say she hated clingy guys? Well then, she was about to get the worst kind of boyfriend she could ever ask for

Besides, their relationship was way out of the time frame Lucy's normal date-and-dumps went into. He'd dropped the -_san _on her name and changed it into a -_chan _in the matter of one dinner date. After the picnic, there might not _be _any honorifics. Then there'd be a ring, and white dresses with black tuxedos in a little church down the road, and little green-eyed Lucy's running around all over the place! That was _NOT _happening!

"Hey listen, Lien, right?" When said guy stopped his path towards Lucy (score!) Natsu gave him his best disarming grin and held out his hand, "Sorry I was such a jerk yesterday. I'm glad that Lucy's happy–" _though, when I'm through giving you advice, she'll be ten times more happy with _me _than you _"**–**and I'd like to help you get to know her, to give her the best shot at the 'happily ever afters' she's always spouting about, ya'know?" Lien shot Natsu a dazzling smile (no! It was exceedingly plain! There was no way that was what Lucy had fallen for with _this _boring kind of guy!) and took his hand, nodding enthusiastically in agreement with Natsu's (in)sincere apology.

"Thank you so much, Natsu-_san_! I hope to get along nicely as well, even if only for Lucy-_chan_'s sake!" What? No 'Dragneel-san'anymore? Maybe Natsu didn't have too much to worry about with this guy after all. He seemed to over familiarize at the drop of a hat (or when someone showed the slightest bit of kindness and picked up that hat for him).

"Take a seat, Lee-uh, Lien. I promise you, by the time we're done talking, you'll know _exactly _what to do to make Lucy fall head over heels for you."

**~MM~**

"I thought I might have been able to fall for him – I really did! – but now I can't _stand _him!" The smirk that had been playing at Natsu's lips was hard to push away. This was only the fourth date that Lucy and the Leech had gone on, each one had – according to Lucy – gone far worse that the others. According to Lien, the dates had been progressively better, but Lucy kept pushing him away and acting shy. Hence, Lien Vanhern kept coming to Natsu for more "advice" about Lucy while Natsu in turn continued to give him all the (false) information that the gullible scholar asked for.

"Oh? Really? I thought you really liked this guy. Thought that he was 'the one' or something like that."

"Nastu Dragneel, do _not _tell me that you were listening to our conversation the other day!"

"Fine, _I wasn't listening to your conversation the other day_, happy?"

"That was a lie, wasn't it?"

"That's what you told me to say, Luce."

Lucy popped her head out of the bathroom door, shooting a glare at the dragonslayer laying on her bed. Her hair was still soaking wet from the shower she'd just taken and a towel was thrown carelessly over her head despite her many warnings to Natsu himself that he'd most definitely catch a cold if he didn't properly dry his hair after a shower.

"You have to be the most infuriating person I know." Natsu grinned, leaning back against her pillows and staring out her window before turning back to a now closed door.

"Well, at least I don't hover over you like some kind of insecure idiot," he heard the hair dryer turn on and his grin disappeared, "Hey, Luce," he had to yell over the sound of the blowing air, but he figured that she could hear him anyway (she always heard him when she wasn't supposed to), "why haven't you dumped him yet?"

The sound of the heated air was the only thing that answered him.

Sighing, Natsu got off the bed and went towards the bathroom. Yanking the door open and pulling out the plug to the hair dryer, he ignored Lucy's astonished look and pushed her out of the bathroom and to the living room.

"N-Natsu! What in Mavis' name are you doing?! I still need to dry my hair!"

_"Hai, hai_, I know, I know. But that junky piece of metal isn't going to work with that crazy mess of hair that you have, ya'know. You're better off giving to to Gajeel for him to eat." Motioning for her to sit down on the floor in front of him, Natsu took a seat behind her on the couch. Granted, he would have felt a little more manly and just a little more chivalrous if _she _had been sitting on the couch, but he knew that wasn't going to work in his favor for what he had planned.

"Why do _I _have to sit on the floor?" Smiling at the way her train of thought followed his own, Natsu put some pressure on her shoulders, keeping her on her knees right in front of him.

"Because otherwise you'd be too tall and you'd end up going to bed with your hair wet."

"How does my height have anything to do with drying my hair?" Instead of answering her, Natsu just grinned. This was one way to use his magic that he had to say was his guilty pleasure. After all, Lucy's hair was just so _soft. _That reminded him, _did Lien get to touch her hair while they were out on their date?_

Natsu sincerely hoped not. After all, if that was the case, then Mr. Vanhern wouldn't be hanging around Magnolia for much longer.

Putting his hands near her head, Natsu let his magic take over and warm his hands. He'd done this before once, when they'd gotten caught out in the rain during a particularly annoying mission, he'd promised himself that he'd most definitely dry her hair again if he ever got the chance. She was a lot more pleasant after a long day when there was some kind of relaxing atmosphere around.

"Lucy?"

"Hmm?"

"Did you break up with Lien?"

"Yeah, I did. He just isn't the right one for me," Natsu ran his fingers through the ends of her hair.

"Just how much did he know about you in the end?"

"Eh, not a whole lot."

"Did he ever get to see you angry?"

"Well, yeah. I was pretty mad at him when he started acting all funny the other day. Why do you––"

"I don't want anyone else seeing your different personalities!" Natsu turned away from her questioning eyes, pulling his hands off of her head and leaving parts of it still damp. _Damn it! _Why did he feel this way anyways? It wasn't like she was his in any way, shape or form. She was just his partner. She was just the only person except for Happy that he'd willingly go on little missions with. She was _important _of course, but she wasn't his.

Her laugh broke him out of his thoughts and he turned back to her, seeing that she was looking straight ahead again.

"Are you _jealous _by any chance, Natsu?" Jealous? Hm...she had been spending more time with Lien than with him lately, but that wasn't it. He wasn't jealous when she spent time with Levy or went shopping with Mira. He wasn't jealous when she went to talk about something with Gajeel (normally pertaining to Levy). He wasn't jealous when she went on missions with people like Cana or Romeo.

"No, I'm not jealous. I think that I'm more scared than anything." Her laughter stopped and she turned to look at him. Her eyes were wide with surprise and her mouth was partly open in a way that he would have thought hilarious in another kind of atmosphere.

"You're..._scared_? Of what?"

"Well, you said that maybe you didn't want to be a mage anymore, and that kinda scared me, I guess. Maybe I just thought that when you started going out with that Lien guy you'd get attached and leave the guild." Her fist connected with his head (softly, at least) and her quiet chuckles filled the silence of the living room. He really didn't see what was so funny. He _had _been worried, damnit! He'd actually been scared that she'd leave with Lien and that she'd show _him _all of the sides of herself that even Natsu didn't know yet. He really couldn't stand that kind of thought.

Gildarts had said that knowing what he was afraid of would make him stronger as well as kinder, but right now, knowing what he was afraid of, Natsu really just felt like an ass.

"Hey Luce, while I'm confessing stuff here, I think you should probably know that I was the one that got Lien to act like that."

"I know," she smiled at him and he started to wonder if this hadn't all just been a play to get him to say his feelings out loud.

"You _knew_? And I'm still _alive_? You lost me."

"Oh, Natsu, don't you know that Mira tells me everything? You really should pick a different place to scare off all of my boyfriends."

"Wait, you're _not _mad at me, right? Or are you just planning to kill me in some other way?" Her laugh had to be the most glorious thing he'd ever heard. If she was happy with him then that was all he needed. He'd kick anyone's ass who thought that they could take Lucy away from him, take Lucy's smile away from him. All of those things belonged to him, every smile, every tear, every laugh, every _word_. Everything was going to be his, and that's when it dawned on him.

"Possessive."

"What? What are you talking about, Natsu?"

"I'm not feeling jealous, I'm feeling possessive! That's it!" Standing up abruptly, Natsu smiled broadly at Lucy, happy to have finally found the name of the emotion that had been plaguing him for the past few days.

He grabbed Lucy under her arms, hauling her up to her feet while she just stood there, dumbfounded. Natsu threw his arms around her shoulders, laughing gleefully at his revelation. She was _his _and that's how he liked it.

"I get it now, Lucy! You're _mine_! That's why I've been feeling all nasty and stuff! It's cause I hate it when you go and try to let anyone but me get to know you! You're _mine_!" As he buried his head into her hair, Natsu was completely oblivious to the cherry red that had taken over Lucy's face at his loud proclamation.

**~MM~**

Later, as Lucy was shoving a rowdy Natsu out of her apartment (he was _still _going crazy over finding out that she was perfectly fine with being his girl), she couldn't help but smile to herself. It'd taken the dragonslayer longer than she thought possible for him to come to the conclusion that he had feelings for her.

Lucy, after all, had _always _been aware that there had been some level of attraction to him since the first time she met him. Even though there had been a denial phase, Lucy had finally accepted that she really didn't mind being his girl, if that meant that she'd get to see that calm, caring side of his more often than not, heck, if she got to see any other sides of Natsu besides the one she already knew, she'd count herself incredibly lucky.

She didn't hear the sound of the window sliding open above her bed until something was pressed against her cheek and a flash went off.

"Sorry Luce! Looks like I forgot something earlier! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Looking up, Lucy spotted a flash of pink and when she saw his face, her's flushed red. Natsu had just _kissed _her. Granted, it had been on her cheek, but _he'd _just made the _first move_! She had figured that it might take months for him to realize that his feelings meant that they weren't considered "friends" she noticed the camera.

_That flash! It couldn't have been...? Did he just...?_

"Natsu! What did you just do?" She had to lean out her window, as Natsu was already running headlong down her street. He stopped though, turning around, the lighting from the street lamps was just good enough for Lucy to make out his grin as he shouted:

"I have to have proof so that everyone knows that you're mine!"

_Well, _Lucy thought to herself, falling back onto her bed as a broad grin and a blush spread over her cheeks, _dating Natsu might not be so bad, but I'm definitely going to have to look into getting some new window locks._

**~MM~**

**Well, that's that! This only took me maybe three days or so to write, but I'd started like three different drafts to this story before this idea hit me.**

**It's kinda cliché, I know, but I thought it turned out well.**

**By the way, Natsu calling Lien "Leech" was actually inspired by something that happened at school. There's this one kid that one of my best friend's was dating and I don't quite remember how it started, but somehow he got the name "Leech". XD I couldn't resist putting this in there!**

**_Koki: the nickname was started because Leech literally followed her everywhere (I was surprised he didn't try to even follow her into the bathroom...). Hence, I called him a leech and the name stuck._**

**The next chapter is the last one for NaLu and then I'm moving on to GaLe! That's right, folks, Gajeel and Levy are coming up next, so start thinking of some Reasons for them.**

**ANNOUNCEMENT: I've gotten a few request from GraNa (Gray and Natsu) and I'm sorry to disappoint you guys, but I'm not going to be writing Yaoi or ****Shonen-ai, so, sorry!**

**(3-5-13) EDIT: **Just fixing some of the upload errors I found when I was reading through this. Hopefully it's better now!

**R&R PLEASE!**


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